Description

The church of Santa Lucia is a structure built in a Romanesque key that still today retains remnants of this era on the left front. If you move to observe this external side, you can see the shelves supported by the representation of the Chimera (a monster of Greek mythology often represented with the head and the body of a lion, a second goat head on the back and the tail of a Snake) and the arches of the windows that illuminate the crypt.

Initially inside the church were the Baroque altars that, with the renovation of the building in 1940, were eliminated by highlighting the ancient frescoes of the upper part and the crypt below (reminiscent of the function Monastic structure) modifying the roof and the entrance staircase.

In the years '80 another renovation allowed the definition of the presbytery with the setting in light of the tabernacle.

Moving in the crypt that subject to the main church, you can see that it is divided into three small naves by four Corinthian columns (one of them has the capital which, unlike the others, does not appear with floral motifs, but with the heads of four different animals). It will also be impossible not to observe the numerous frescoes that cover the walls.

Curiosities

The church remained in oblivion until 1870, when a researcher talked about it in one of his works. After that, in 1938, renovations works began.

Originally the structure served as a monastery for the penitent nuns, so called because they did not enter the caste monastery. They were, in fact, women who had decided to leave their husbands, thus abandoning their children and who were forced to take refuge in this place for not falling into the world of prostitution.

What to find in the area

Belvedere (end of via Lata), Glass bridge.

Where to take photos

Piazza Vittoria, Madonna della Scala’s church.