Santa Caterina, Pisa
Santa Caterina d'Alessandria is a Gothic-style, Roman Catholic church in Pisa, region of Tuscany, Italy.History
It is mentioned for the first time in 1211, then associated with a hospital. The current edifice was built between 1251 and 1300, commissioned by Saint Dominic himself, and entrusted to the friars of his order.
The façade has a pointed shape with white and grey marble, with, in the upper section, two order of small Gothic loggias and a central rose window. The interior, after a fire in 1651, is on a single large hall. Renovated in the 18th century, it houses works by Lippo Memmi, Fra Bartolomeo, Santi di Tito, Aurelio Lomi, Raffaello Vanni, Pietro Dandini and marble sculptures by Andrea Pisano and his son Nino Pisano. Also notable is the tomb of Gherardo Compagni, decorated with a late 16th-century "Pietà" statue.
The wooden pulpit from the 17th century, according to the tradition, was that from which St Thomas Acquinas preached.
In 1320, Simone Martini executed for this church the Saint Catherine of Alexandria Polyptych, one of his best known works. The painting has been moved to the San Matteo Museum in Pisa.
The church is flanked by a bell tower with mullioned windows, attributed to Giovanni di Simone.
