Church of Santa Lucia

Holy Mass Summer Schedule: 6:00 pm every Tuesday from 2ⁿᵈ June 2025.
The Church of Santa Lucia is open to the public on 13ᵗʰ December, on the occasion of the mass dedicated to the Saint. To discover its beauty at another time, book a visit by contacting the Rectory on +39 0365 551026.

Piazza Santa Lucia, hamlet of Balbiana, Manerba del Garda (BS).

Dedicated to Saint Lucy, whose following is of Venetian origin (although she was already popular in the East), devotion to this saint has spread throughout our territory thanks to the Republic of Venice and, in our specific case, can be presumed to date back to the early 15ᵗʰ century. Lucy, belonging to a noble family, converted to Christianity, giving all her goods to the poor and renouncing her impending marriage. Upon being rejected, her betrothed retaliated by denouncing her to the proconsul with the accusation of being a Christian. She was imprisoned, tortured and finally beheaded in Syracuse around 304 AD. According to legend, her eyes were gouged out by her torturers only for them to be restored. She is often represented with her eyes on a plate, the palm of martyrdom or a sword, being considered the protector of sight, also invoked against bleeding.
The name “Lucy” also carries with it a profound meaning, recalling light both in a physical and spiritual sense.
Another legend of Veronese origin deserves mention, which in our tradition sees her as a bearer of gifts. It is said that, in the 13ᵗʰ century, Verona was hit by a serious and incurable epidemic that affected the eyes. Frightened, the population decided to organise a barefoot procession in the snow to the church dedicated to Saint Lucy and Saint Agnes of Rome. The children, however, refused to participate because of the cold. It was then that they were promised that, if they completed the pilgrimage barefoot, they would find numerous gifts waiting for them when they came back. The epidemic ceased and the children really did discover gifts upon their return.

A rustic church with a single room, bearing a longitudinal plan, an external polygonal apse and bell tower.

Exterior:

• Plastered gabled façade with round arch portal
• Remnants of lateral openings that have long been closed off
• Bell tower (harking back to the 18ᵗʰ century) with four monoforas and a pyramidal roof
• Double-pitched roof with exposed wooden beams

Interior:

• Single room adorned with late Gothic and 16ᵗʰ-century frescoes (local school)
• Right wall: Madonna Enthroned (one dated 1489), Madonna Lactans, Madonna with Bishop
• Left wall: Madonna Enthroned with geometric frame (1448), Crucifixion, Saint Christopher, Blessing Saint
• Triumphal arch: Annunciation
• Abside: 16ᵗʰ-century frescoes of the Passion (Deposition, Crucifixion, Ascent to Calvary)
• Some works have been restored yet others are irreparably damaged