Santa Caterina d'Alessandria is a small

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

church, located in the town of Roccantica, in the

province of Rieti The province of Rieti () is a Provinces of Italy, province in the Lazio region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Rieti. Established in 1927, it has an area of with a total population of 157,887 people as of 2017. There are 73 ''comuni'' (: '' ...

, region of

Lazio Lazio ( , ; ) or Latium ( , ; from Latium, the original Latin name, ) is one of the 20 Regions of Italy, administrative regions of Italy. Situated in the Central Italy, central peninsular section of the country, it has 5,714,882 inhabitants an ...

, Italy.

History

This church was built in the 13th-century near the highest points of the medieval portion of Roccantica. The simple structure is most notable for the interior frescoes depicting the life of St Catherine, painted by Pietro Coleberti of Priverno. The paintings are dated 1 June 1430, and the patron is noted to be Armellao di Esculo de’ Bastoni, who was named master of the castle by

Pope Martin V Pope Martin V (; ; January/February 1369 – 20 February 1431), born Oddone Colonna, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 11 November 1417 to his death in February 1431. His election effectively ended the We ...

in 1427. Among the scenes depicted are the ''Dispute between Catherine and the Philosophers'', the ''Mystical Marriage of Catherine'', the ''Flagellation of Catherine'', the ''Conversion of the Empress'', and ''Martyrdom of the Philosophers''. The other frescoes are in poor state of conservation, depicting ''St Catherine reveals divine help to the Empress'', the ''Martyrdom of the Wheel'', the ''Martyrdom of the Empress'', and ''Decapitation'' and ''Burial of St Catherine''. The Crucifixion fresco above the altar is by a 15th-century Umbran painter. The small church or chapel is poorly accessible due to private ownership.Tesori del Lazio
website, entry on church.

References

Roman Catholic churches in Lazio Churches in the province of Rieti 13th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy {{Lazio-RC-church-stub