Mary on the Hill: The People and Stories Behind Statues of the Blessed Virgin in St. Louis's Italian Neighborhood - by Tracy Duchinsky (Paperback)

About the Book

You see her everywhere on the Hill in St. Louis. She graces front lawns and backyards. She stands perched atop a bakery and, in another location, watches over the parking lot of an antique market. Grottos decorated with tufts of vibrant flowers and carefully arranged landscaping often surround her. For generations, families in this historic Italian neighborhood have expressed their deep faith by displaying statues of Mary, the Blessed Mother, outside their homes. In Mary on the Hill, longtime Hill resident Tracy Duchinsky captures many of these statues in lovely photographs and heartwarming stories. She introduces us to immigrants who settled on the Hill more than a century ago and to newcomers drawn by the neighborhood's unique parish community. In the process, she reveals what inspired people to give Mary a place of honor at their homes and how they continue to venerate her.

About the Author

The Hill is where second-generation Italian-American Tracy Ferrario Duchinsky was raised. Like her father and several of his siblings, she attended St. Ambrose School. She has a degree in art but worked in the health insurance sector before she, her husband, and their two daughters moved from St. Louis. After 26 years, they moved back in 2019 to aid her mother, who still resided on the Hill. Tracy is devoted to her family, her Catholic faith, the Hill, and her parish, St. Ambrose. She enjoys volunteer work, photography, and coffee.