The people of Siracusa have a deep affection for the Piazza Santa Lucia, as, in their hometown, the patron saint of Siracusa suffered martyrdom in 304 AD and therefore became the example of virtue and courage for all. The early Christians in the area had already attached great symbolic significance to the area in which the present monumental complex of Santa Lucia Extra Moenia stands before the 3rd century AD, and the presence of a series of catacombs in which Christian rites were performed, and the buried dead is proof of this. According to history, the body of the Siracusan martyr was buried in an arcosolium of the catacomb, making it a place dedicated to the city's religious cults. The catacomb, located beneath Piazza Santa Lucia, is characterised by a complex morphology, as it comprises a community cemetery and several privately owned hypogea belonging to the 3rd, 4th and 5th centuries. Furthermore, archaeological artefacts dating back to the Byzantine and Norman periods have been found within the catacomb. This shows how the cult of the Saint remained alive in the catacomb and the Basilica above it.
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