> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://theparnassian.com/en/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# Saint Lucy of Syracuse, her iconography, her role in Dante and the dessert of 13 December
- URL: https://theparnassian.com/en/v-italii-est-znamenityi-prazdnichnyi-desert-kotoryi-nazyvaetsia-glazki-sviatoi-lutsii/
- Published: 2022-11-29T09:02:20.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-02T19:07:26.000Z
- Author: Alexandr Radayev
- Tags: Faith, Books, Mores, Ethnography

In Italy there is a famous festive dessert called Saint Lucy's eyes.

The iconography of the early Christian patron saint of the blind characteristically shows eyes, which she holds in her hands or on a small dish. According to variants of the hagiographic legend, Saint Lucy, who lived in Syracuse in the 4th century AD, was blinded during tortures inflicted by a rejected admirer, or else tore out her own eyes to rid herself of the tormenting pursuit of a man captivated by her gaze.

Lucy appears in the "Divine Comedy" as the saint who can convey the supplications of Dante, who had great difficulties with his eyesight, to the Mother of God herself.

The dessert created in memory of Saint Lucy is most often prepared on the day of her veneration, 13 December, but in many bakeries it can be found on ordinary days too.

![](https://theparnassian.com/content/images/2026/09/photo_7959@29-11-2022_12-02-20.jpg)

![](https://theparnassian.com/content/images/2026/09/photo_7960@29-11-2022_12-02-20.jpg)