Church of St. Lucia - Civic Museum

The desconsecrated church of Santa Lucia stands on the higher part of the town, near the ancient tower of the Frangipane Castle. It was built in 1202 in gothic style, according to the wish of Jacopa de' Settesoli, widow of a Frangipane and a follower of St. Francis of Assisi (her remains are in the crypt of the Basilica of San Francesco d'Assisi, near those of Francis).
The façade is very simple and has an entrance portal made of peperino stone. The original structure consisted of a nave and two aisles, but today you can see only the nave characterized by a series of pillars and transverse pointed spans. Among the interior decorations there are ruins of mullions and of a gothic tabernacle, various inscriptions, ruins of mosaics and stained glass windows.
During the recent restoration works (end of XX century), under the floor of the nave recently it has been found a wide Roman cistern, probably used to supply the water to the ancient Marinum.

Church of Saint Lucia

The church had a miraculous image of the Virgin Mary, called "Madonna del Popolo" (once named Maria Santissima di Santa Lucia) which was moved on the church of Saint Barnabas on December 10, 1662 wit a a solemn procession.
In 1669, the cardinal bishop of Albano, Ulderico Carpegna, authorized the Duke Lorenzo Onofrio Colonna to reduce the use profane the churches of Saint Lucia and Saint John. The high altar was transferred in the Church of San Barnaba.
In 1850 the building, smaller (the apse, the portico and bell tower were enclosed in private homes), was again used as a church but after 20 years it was purchased by the Italian State: it was converted into a cinema and then was used for various purposes over the years.

Since 2000 the church has been transformed in the Civic Museum "U.Mastroianni" where there are many many valuable relics of prehistoric times, Roman and medieval times, many deeds, some dating back to the sixteenth century, all works once belonged to the Antiquarium museum located in the in the Hall of the Popes of the Colonna Palace.