Chiesa di Santa Lucia

The church of Santa Lucia stands on the Pallanza lakefront in Suna. Its sixteenth-century origins and eight ceiling roundels by Mario Tozzi connect the village's religious heritage with the work of an internationally known painter raised on the lake.

Why it matters

Santa Lucia links the history of Suna, once a community of stonemasons and fishermen, with the life and work of Mario Tozzi. The painter returned to the place where he grew up to create a cycle of religious paintings for the local church, an unusually personal commission in his career.

What to notice

Eight oil-on-canvas roundels set into the vault depict Saint Lucy and episodes from her life, along with Saints Andrew of Avellino, Francis of Assisi and Maurus. An inscription on the bell tower records the year 1585. A nearby war memorial designed by Tozzi frames a view toward the Borromean Gulf.

Context and history

The oratory was built in the sixteenth century, and the bell-tower inscription dates to 1585. Mario Tozzi, who grew up in Suna, painted the ceiling roundels in 1923 and 1924. After working in Paris and co-founding the Groupe des Sept, he returned to live in Suna in 1960. He also designed the adjacent war memorial, inaugurated in 1953.