St. Lucia Church, Potenza

The small church of Santa Lucia is located in Potenza, in a small wide street between Portasalza Street and Santa Lucia Street. The Church, along with the ancient village that surrounds it, is clearly medieval in origin. The Church is supposed to date back to around 1200. It has always been dedicated to the saint. The Church is located outside the ancient walls of the historic center, on the western side at the end of Via Pretoria. It is defined because of its location, 'extra moenia' in a pastoral visitation report of 1571. It venerates the Syracusan martyr saint Lucia, patron saint of the blind, who had, like many other martyrs of the early centuries, an ancient cult in the city. Home to a lay confraternity that took care of its decoration, the church-damaged by the Nov. 23, 1980, earthquake-was recently restored. On Sundays it is officiated by the Friars Minor of the nearby St. Michael's Parish Church.