The church of
Santa Lucia della Tinta (St. Lucy of the Dye) is an originally 13th century, heavily restored former confraternity church in the rione Campo Marzio. It is a small and ancient church, formerly collegiate and parish, set in the country of the Dyers, from which it took its name.
The church is dedicated to Saint Lucia, Roman martyr of the fourth century, and not to the homonymous and better known Saint Lucia of Syracusan, although both have an altar dedicated to them in the church.
For reference, a plan of the church is available
here.
The first documentary evidence for the church is an inscription of 1122, found under a staircase on the premises in the 17th century. The church also is mentioned in several papal bulls of the 13th century, during renovations. From the evidence of the surviving fabric, it seems that the church was rebuilt in this century. It did not have a single priest, but a college of secular prebendaries which later had the name of Santa Maria Regina Coeli. The establishment of this by a Pope Nicholas is recorded in a long epigraph preserved in the church.
In 1628 Pope Paul V granted the patronage of the church to the Borghese family (which lived locally) who arranged another major restoration. In 1715, the present façade was added. The architect was Tommaso Mattei. The Borghese paid for a new frescoed ceiling in 1781, which was executed by Taddeo Kuntze, a Polish painter.
In 1826, responsibility for the church was given to the Arcisodalizio della Curia Romana, which was an association of lawyers employed by the Papal government. Its patron was Maria Santissima Salus Infirmorum.
In 1921 the church was formally put in the care of the Arcisodalizio della Curia Romana, which is a pious sodality for people in the legal profession and an offshoot of the Procuratori mentioned above. The Arcisodalizio remains in charge.
In 2014 the ceiling was restored by the Supertendent of Rome because because of serious rain damaged.
