Santa Caterina da Siena a Magnanapoli

In the heart of Rione Monti is this church initially erected at the end of the 16th century with the later suppressed monastery of the Dominican nuns, which included several buildings, including the imposing Torre delle Milizie.

The current appearance is due to the reconstruction work, begun in 1628 on a project by the architect Giovanni Battista Soria and completed in 1640 when the church was consecrated to Saint Catherine of Siena.

The building, today the main church of the Military Ordinariate in Italy, is accessed by a double flight staircase built in the early 20th century. Underneath is a votive crypt dedicated to the world wars Roman fallen and adorned with a bronze crucifix made by Romano Romanelli.

The splendid late 16th-century facade has two orders: the lower, with a three-arched portico and the upper, with a large window between two niches, crowned by a triangular tympanum.

The interior, rich in marble and 17th-18th-century decorations, has a single nave, with three chapels on each side and a Baroque dome. On the barrel-vaulted ceiling is the Glory of Saint Catherine, a splendid 18th-century painting by Luigi Garzi. The church keeps numerous works of art, including the magnificent Ecstasy of Saint Catherine from the high altar, a 17th-century high-relief by the Maltese sculptor Melchiorre Cafà, the two side high-reliefs by Pietro Bracci depicting Saint Rose of Lima and Saint Agnes of Montepulciano, and the valuable tabernacle in marble, lapis lazuli and bronze of the 17th century.

Photo: Ordinariato Militare per l'Italia Official Website