The church of Santa Caterina is the parish church of the district of the same name, in Rovereto. A building dedicated to Saint Catherine of Alexandria is mentioned in 1470; it stood closer to the castle, and under Venetian rule it was pulled down to strengthen the walls near the Basadonna tower. The new church was built around 1575, further west, and first entrusted to Benedictine nuns. Between 1621 and 1636, with the arrival of the Capuchins, it was thoroughly restructured, and in 1636 it was consecrated to Saint Francis and Saint Catherine, in the presence of the Prince-Bishop Carlo Emanuele Madruzzo.
What to see
The façade, on via Borgo Santa Caterina, is plain and linear, gabled, with a large triangular pediment. The architraved portal has a frescoed lunette; in the centre a large splayed oculus, with stained glass, lights the choir loft and the nave. At the sides are two secondary doors: the one on the right leads to the convent.
The interior has a single nave with a barrel vault. The wooden high altar is the work of Friar Giacinto da Gussola, of 1770; the altarpiece, with the Virgin, the Child and Saint Catherine, was painted in 1829 by Giuseppe Craffonara.
Visiting
The church has been a parish since 1968. Opening and Mass times should be checked with the parish.
Our editors' tip
On the last Sunday of November, the nearest to the 25th, the saint's day, Rovereto traditionally holds the Santa Caterina fair.
