A thanks for the translation of these pages in the English: SHEILA COLEMAN in MORGANTE (GB)

SAINT LUCY'S CHURCH

This is the oldest church in Ferentino. It is on the south side of the city, in the vicinity of the Roman baths, next to a small square, onto which opens the only remaining entrance.

The whole building is made up of (1) the Crypt which is dedicated to St. Biagio, bishop and martyr, erected towards the middle of 4th century, on the location of an ancient pagan temple; and (2) the upper church, dedicated to Saint Lucy, a Syracusan martyr: the present-day building, Romanesque, was erected in the 9th - 10th century.

• Exterior: the terminal apse crowned with small round arches and the ancient windows now closed on the inside;

• in the crypt: the two large columns with small ornamental capitals;

• upper church: large rectangular stone pillars connected by wide circular arches; inserted between the pillars, and in the front wall there is a façade of prettily decorated capitals; on the wall, barely visible, priceless frescos of 13th century Saints, almost, completely ruined; and in a stucco wall panel, another fresco of the Virgin with Child with Ss. Ambrose and Biagio kneeling before Her and an Angel bearing palms; under the side nave, closed within a grill, is a piece of mosaic tile from the ancient Roman baths.