The Church of Santa Caterina
A small place of worship built on an ancient Roman building
The small building around the corner
Just outside the historic center, hidden behind the town hall, the Church of Santa Caterina d'Alessandria is a small place of worship that the local population is very attached to. The Church of Santa Caterina is located near Piazza Vittorio Emanuele III behind the town hall. You can reach it on foot and by car by climbing the small street that runs alongside the town hall. Two olive trees accompany you to the entrance of the church, giving the place a mystical atmosphere.
HISTORICAL NOTES
A place with a millenary history
The Church of Santa Caterina d'Alessandria was probably erected on an ancient Roman building, likely a dedicatory temple. The construction of the small church is undatable, but since the cult of Santa Caterina d'Alessandria developed from the 13th century, we can hypothesize the creation date between the 14th and 15th centuries. The interior consists of a single nave with two side chapels. In the center is the main altar painted with an apse fresco depicting the Virgin accompanied by Saint Sebastian and Saint Roch. In the left chapel is the funerary monument of Abbot Tommaso Silvestri, the first educator of the deaf-mute born and died in Trevignano in the 18th century, a distinguished figure visited, two hundred years after his death, by Pope John Paul II in September 1986.
In the right chapel is the statue of Saint Anthony the Abbot, the protector of animals. Every year on the last Sunday of January, the statue is carried in procession through the village streets by the riders who then receive the blessing from the parish priest. The evocative horse procession hosts hundreds of riders from all the villages around Lake Bracciano, who throughout the morning ride through the village entirely on horseback.
The church always available
Starting from Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II, you will enter the historic center through the Clock Tower. After a short walk along Via Umberto I, on the right you will find a small square with a street that leads up to the Church of Santa Caterina d'Alessandria, which is always open for prayer. If you find the door closed, do not hesitate to open it because the church is available to tourists and not only.