{"id":67759,"date":"2015-09-29T20:59:00","date_gmt":"2015-09-29T19:59:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sicile-sicilia.net\/?p=67759"},"modified":"2026-10-12T21:50:21","modified_gmt":"2026-10-12T20:50:21","slug":"church-and-monastery-of-saint-catherine-in-palermo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sicile-sicilia.net\/en\/church-and-monastery-of-saint-catherine-in-palermo","title":{"rendered":"Church and Monastery of Saint Catherine in Palermo"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The church of Saint Catherine of Palermo<\/strong>, completed in the 16th century, faces onto two squares: the Piazza Pretoria<\/a> with its famous fountain, and the Piazza Bellini<\/a> opposite the Arab-Norman Byzantine churches of San Cataldo<\/a> and the Martorana<\/a>.
The dome and the choir were added in the mid-18th century and in 1863 respectively.
It adjoins a monastery founded in 1311 by the testamentary will of Benvenuta Mastrangelo<\/strong>, a Palermitan noblewoman. It became one of the richest and most influential Dominican female convents in Palermo, which explains the exceptional scale and decorative richness of the church, financed largely by the dowries of the nuns from aristocratic families.<\/p>\n

Architecture and works<\/h2>\n
\"Facade<\/a>

Facade of the church of Saint Catherine of Alexandria<\/p><\/div>\n

The facade is in the Late Renaissance style, notably featuring a marble statue of Saint Catherine of Alexandria dating from 1685. It is preceded by wide monumental staircases, structured on two levels and displaying a rich sculpted decoration, among Corinthian-capped columns, decorative friezes, niches and a central tympanum. <\/p>\n

The church has a single-nave plan, punctuated by three chapels on each side, and crossed by a transept over which a dome rises. This longitudinal organization, typical of the Counter-Reformation<\/strong>, favors liturgical readability and visual participation, while integrating the spaces reserved for the nuns, in accordance with the recommendations of the Council of Trent
The interior is marked by a very rich Baroque decoration, characteristic of the great Palermitan churches of the 18th century: polychrome marbles, stuccoes, frescoes, etc.<\/p>\n

On the counter-facade, the nuns’ choir is supported by two powerful twisted columns in red granite.<\/p>\n

The walls of the nave hold statues of holy virgins and beatified women from royal lineages, among them Saint Agnes, Saint Catherine of Siena, Saint Catherine de’ Ricci, Blessed Sancia of Majorca, Margaret of Hungary and Joan of Portugal.<\/p>\n

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