Description of the attraction
The Church of Santa Caterina, located in the historic center of Palermo, adjoins a monastery founded in the 14th century by monks from the Dominican order. The construction of the church began in 1566 and was completed only at the end of the 16th century - in 1596. The dome and choir were added respectively in the middle of the 17th century and in 1863. One of the facades of Santa Caterina overlooks the central square of the city of Piazza Pretoria, crowned with the fountain of the same name, and the second one overlooks Piazza Bellini, where the beautiful churches of Martorana and San Cataldo are located.
The rich interior decoration of the one-nave church of Santa Caterina during the Counter-Reformation is striking at first sight. The special arrangement of the main hall allowed the nuns, while remaining invisible, to participate in the liturgies - the choirs were placed at the entrance with the help of a support of two columns. The interior decoration, as in most other churches in Palermo, consists of luxurious marble finishes and frescoes, which are harmoniously integrated into the architectural supporting elements. Among the artists who worked on the decoration of the church, it is worth highlighting Filippo Randazzo, author of The Triumph of St. Catherine and The Glory of the Dominicans, painted in 1744, and Vito D'Anne, creator of the Triumph of the Order of the Dominicans and Allegory of the Continents, written in the second half of the 18th century.
Not far from the church are various tourist attractions of the city, such as the historic square of Quattro Canti, Palazzo dei Normanni, Teatro Massimo and the city administration building located in Palazzo Pretorio in the square of the same name.
