Contrada Santa Lucia

Around 1550, the district and the adjacent territory, probably from Buso della Rana to Boro, were owned by a gentleman from Vicenza: Marcantonio Basso, who would come to spend periods of rest to escape the heat of the cities during the summer.
Marcantonio Basso had married Lucia Apolloni from the Valdagni family, whose name remained associated with the district “Dei Valdagni.” Marcantonio and Lucia had no children and therefore took care of two nephews: Apollonio and Gioabatta De Apolloni. They were probably raised by Aunt Lucia and eventually inherited all the possessions, districts, and fields. Apollonio de Apolloni became the universal heir and in gratitude, in 1580, had the small church built, dedicating it to Saint Lucia, the martyr from Syracuse who reminded him of his benefactor aunt Lucia.
The altar features a painting of great value, probably by Maganza the Elder, known as Magagnò, who was said to have been a friend of Apollonio. The painting depicts the Madonna in glory among the saints. To the left of the Madonna, from top to bottom, we find St. Apollonio, St. Francis of Assisi, and St. Lucia holding the plate on which her eyes lie as a remembrance of her martyrdom. To the right, we find St. Apollonia, another unidentified saint, and St. Catherine of Alexandria, who presents a wheel on the plate, the symbol of her torture. At the bottom, there is an addition to the painting, resembling a moon, depicting Marcantonio Basso with his two nephews, Apollonio and Giobatta, dressed in medieval-modern attire, made of satin or velvet, with finely worked lace.
To the left of the altar in the Church of Santa Lucia, there is a fresco discovered during restoration work carried out about fifteen years ago.
The fresco, partially damaged, represents a scene of thanksgiving to Saint Lucia or to the Madonna for having saved the district from a natural disaster. The buildings, the church, the manor house, and other homes are all cloaked in white. It is likely a snowfall so intense that it threatened the stability of the roofs. The inhabitants are on the roofs shoveling the snow. Others are bringing animals out of the barn for fear of collapses. This episode likely dates back to 1832, when chronicles recorded a heavy snowfall and a subsequent famine. The locality of Santa Lucia was also severely hit on July 23, 1910, by a terrible hurricane that caused significant damage and affected the entire Pedemontana area, from Piedmont to Lombardy, from Veneto to Friuli. A real tornado with massive hailfalls exceeding one meter. Following this event, the Priabona-Monte di Malo road was planned to provide work for the severely affected population.
The church also hosted Pope Pius X, Giuseppe Sarto. Among the owners of the district, besides the Basso family, we also recall the Valdagni, Apolloni, Marcante, Marchioro, and Meneghelli families.
Exiting the church, one can observe the manor house with its impressive aristocratic façade, now dilapidated.
The road passes through a portico: this was one of the systems used to allow carts returning from the fields to safely store the grains and harvests by bringing the carts directly into the portico in case of bad weather. Above the building, a small bell tower can be seen, which still houses a bell used to summon farmers, tenants, and laborers to attend mass or the evening rosary. It also served to communicate, alert, or warn of fire, the approach of strangers, thieves, or imminent hailstorms.
Upon entering the portico, one notices arches with somewhat rough and ancient columns.
A small gate provides access to a hanging garden, where we find an exotic plant and a sundial on the internal façade. From the supporting wall of the garden, one dominates the entire Rana valley almost to Boro Monte Piano and Priabona. A very sweet panorama frequently enjoyed by the gentlemen who would sit there to rest and take in the cool evening air while the laborers returned home with the products from the fields.
Exiting the under-portico on the opposite side brings one to an open area.
To the left, there are outbuildings for livestock and an oven for baking bread. The district was self-sufficient.
The internal façade of the manor house features, above the large portico, gun loops used for arquebuses and later for raising pigeons. To the right, we notice a large chimney that rises to the roof, and next to this imposing chimney structure, a charming arched window of typical medieval design appears. In the lower right, there is a white stone dated 1400.
Crossing another roofed area attached to some houses, we find a large recently constructed fountain for collecting water from Buso della Rana.
The last house is a building once used as a stable with the keystone of the arch constituted by a mask. Masks are common in rural buildings: some are recent, others are older (one from 1400 has been found). In our opinion, it represents a reflection, a memory of what were the “antefixes” of Roman times that ancient builders often placed in the roof holes to prevent birds from carrying straw, redirecting the rainwater flows. Sometimes these terracotta antefixes depicted a harpy or a mocking face. These mocking expressions were intended to ridicule the spirits of the night, thereby reassuring the owners.
We know that the memory of ancient mythologies has survived time and space, and we have often heard of ogres, fauns, witches, anguane, etc., characters connected to Greek-Roman mythologies. For example, the Anguane, only the water deities, can be traced back to the nymphs of springs and rivers and caves. They are therefore aspects of popular culture that should be preserved and valued.