Traditions and itineraries of Saint Lucia

  • 5:00 h
  • 1,9 Km
  • Easy

A terrible famine struck Siracusa in 1646. Citizens prayed to St. Lucia to help them and on May 13 a ship preceded by a flock of quails full of wheat, but without a crew came into to the harbour.

Due to the famine, people didn’t grind the wheat but cooked and ate it immediately. This was the start of the “Cuccia” which is prepared during the feast: a dessert of cooked corn enriched with tasty ricotta cheese.

The miraculous event is celebrated on the first Sunday in May: it is the feast of “St. Lucia delle Quaglie” (St. Lucia of the quails).

On Sunday at 12.00, after the solemn mass in the Cathedral the statue is carried to Piazza Duomo in front of the Archbishop’s Palace. A flock of quails and doves greets the passage of the patron saint on her way to the church of St. Lucia alla Badia.

On the second Sunday in May, a short procession passes through the streets of Ortigia. From the church of St. Lucia alla Badia to the Cathedral, that will guard the statue until the next celebration.

1

Cathedral of Siracusa

Churches, Culture

The Doric temple was built in the fifth century BC. by the tyrant Gelone following the victory against the Carthaginians in the battle of Imera. The Athenaion was hexastyle (six columns in front), periptero (columns surrounded the cell on all four sides), with 14 columns …

2

Arcivescovado

Culture, Monuments

The traces of the ancient palace of the bishops are still visible in the portico and inside a small chapel with mighty vaults which recall those of Maniace castle and of the palace Bellomo. The building had to undergo rearrangements in the Aragonese period as …

3

Church of Saint Lucia alla Badia

Churches, Culture

The Church and the Cistercian convent dedicated to St. Lucia had a prominent place in Syracuse, because of its location in the heart of Ortigia and especially for the feast of St. Lucia in May, established in memory of a miracle of the Patron Saint …

4

Fonte Aretusa

Culture, Tipical places

The legend tells that river god Alpheus fell in love with Arethusa, nymph of Artemis, and he tried to seduce her in every way. Aretusa invoked the intervention of the goddess that turned her into a spring. Sank beneath the Ionian, Aretusa was to lead …

5

Maniace’s Castle

Culture, Monuments, Tipical places

In front of the mythical Fonte Aretusa, we can see the imposing Maniace’s Castle, on the extreme tip of the island. The building is among the most important monuments of the Swabian period, and certainly the one that still sees formulated as many conjectures. The …

6
View of the church of St Joseph

Church of St Joseph

Churches, Culture

The Church of St. Joseph was built , in the mid-1700s on behalf of the Confratelli Falegnami at the site where once stood the old Orthodox Church of St. Fantino. To deal with the expenses of construction, the Confrati sold to the Congregation of Cocchieri …

7
The facade of the church

Church of St. Filippo the Apostle

Churches, Culture

The beautiful Church of St. Filippo the Apostle is the most important in the Giudecca district. Built in site where once stood the fifteenth-century Synagogue of Siracusa in 1742, after a long restoration, it was reopened in March 2010.

The church was built in site where once stood the fifteenth-century Jewish synagogue of Siracusa in 1742.

8

Via della maestranza

Culture, Monuments, Tipical places

One of the oldest and most picturesque streets of Ortigia is via della Maestranza, characterized by noble’ s houses of Baroque appearance. Entering in Via della Maestranza from Piazza Archimede, you will find Palazzo Impellizzeri-Vianisi (Via della Maestranza, 17), erected in the early ‘700. Of …

9
View of the church

Church of St. Francesco all’Immacolata

Churches, Culture

The church of Saint Francesco all’Immacolata, although initially dedicated to St. Andrew the Apostle, in the early sixteenth century was dedicated to the Immaculate Conception and the Madonna of Soccorso. Founded in the fourteenth century, in the next two centuries it underwent through different interventions. …