THE CATACOMB OF S. LUCIA

The catacomb of Santa Lucia, was a very famous place among writers but, as time went by, its memory has gone lost, maybe because of its position that made it an easy place to sack. The archaeological exploration started in 1887 by Saverio Cavallari, director of the Archaeological Museum of Siracusa; but only during the First World War Paolo Orsi carried out an exploration set out to clarify the link between the catacomb and the so-called tomb of the Saint. In 1685, an arcosolio. considered the place were Lucy was buried, was isolated an then included in the upper church of S. Lucia al Sepolcro. Unfortunately, this prevented to understand the original planning of this part of the catacomb.
The origin and development of the catacomb seem to be inspired by roman prototypes. The cemetery is articulated in four regions, which depend also on the addition of private hypogeums.
The main galleries are two, and in these private burials and mausoleums are visible.
Among the different kinds of burial, there are the sepolcri a baldacchino or ad alcova, big and small loculi, different sizes of hypogeums.
Nowadays, the catacomb appears empty because of repeted sackings; there are only few frescos and inscriptions left. But in the north-east side of it, decorations and a big marble slab have been found.
The catacombs of Siracusa are under the jurisdiction of the Papal Commission of Sacred Archaeology, the Vatican body responsible for the care and promotion of the catacombs. Following the restoration of several paintings in the catacomb of Vigna Cassia and S. Giovanni, plans for the catacomb of S. Giovanni include the opening of a small museum where visitors could see the objects discovered during the excavations done in the catacombs after the agreement in 1925 between th Holy See and the Italian State, to create this commission.