A polychromed wood sculpture of Saint Lucy of Syracuse with a palm leaf and a dish holding two eyes, 17th C.

H 74 x L 37 x D 24 cm

A disappointed suitor accused Lucy of being a Christian, and she was executed in Syracuse, Sicily, in 304 AD, during the Diocletianic Persecution. Her veneration spread to Rome, and by the 6th C. to the whole Church. The oldest archaeological evidence comes from the Greek inscriptions from the Catacombs of St. John in Syracuse. Jacobus de Voragine's Legenda Aurea was the most widely read version of the Lucy legend in the Middle Ages. In medieval accounts, Saint Lucy's eyes were gouged out prior to her execution. The most ancient archaeological traces attributable to the cult of Saint Lucia have been brought back to Sicily, particularly in Syracuse, and are preserved in the archaeological museums of the city. Lucy is the patron saint of those with eye illnesses.