The catacombs of Santa Lucia are the oldest in Syracuse, dating back to 220-230 AD, and were frequented for many centuries.

Here there was the body of Saint Lucia for a long time, until 1039, when it was stolen by the Byzantine general Giorgio Maniace and taken to Constantinople.

The galleries depart in all directions starting from the tomb of Saint Lucia.

Due to the various alterations of the following centuries, including the changes made for use as an air raid shelter during the Second World War, today the tomb of the saint appears isolated, but once it was an integral part of the catacombs.

Unfortunately, for static reasons, the catacombs cannot be visited in their entirety, but the area open to the public includes some valuable testimonies, including a Byzantine oratory with marvelous frescoes that reproduce, inside a jeweled cross with figures of Christ, of the Virgin and of two angels, the forty martyrs of Sebaste.

In the depictions one also recognizes the Christ Pantocrator and some figures of bishops.

These frescoes have come almost miraculously to us as later the environment was exploited as a cistern by the arabs.

The area visited is also the oldest nucleus of the catacombs; spread over three levels and includes narrow galleries with a lot of overlapping niches.

For info tel.: 0931 64694; email: info@kairos-web.com; Access is from the external portico of the Basilica of Santa Lucia, extra moenia.

The full ticket costs 8.00 euros; entry times: Monday to Friday from 11:00 to 13:00 and from 14:30 to 17:30.

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