Basilica di Santa Caterina - Galatina, Italy - Signs of History on Waymarking.com

Its interior is a kaleidoscope of frescoes, with a pure-white altarpiece set against the frenzy of frescoes.

Married to Raimondello Orsini del Balzo, the Salentine’s wealthiest noble, Marie had plenty of cash to splash on interior decoration. The gruesome story goes that Raimondello (who is buried here) climbed Mount Sinai to visit relics of Santa Caterina (St Catherine). Kissing the dead saint’s hand, he bit off a finger and brought it back as a holy relic.

It is not clear who the artists Marie employed really were; they could have been itinerant painters down from Le Marche and Emilia or southerners who'd absorbed the latest Renaissance innovations on trips north.

The sign reads

The Basilica of St. Catherine, one of the most important examples of Romanesque architecture in Puglia, was erected between 1383 and 1391 by order of Raimondello Orsini del Balzo. In the course of one of his many travels, Raimondello climbed to the summit of Mt. Sinai in order to pay homage to St. Catherine's remains. According to legend, at the moment of departure, he kissed the Saint's hand, biting off one of her fingers. Upon his return to Italy, he had the holy relic mounted in a reliquary. To this day, the reliquary is conserved in the Church's treasury. After Raimondello's death in 1405, the building of the church was continued by his wife, Princess Maria d'Enghein, and was later brought to completion by his son, Giovanni Antonio. The façade is composed of three spires underscored by little trefoiled, dead arches. The prothyrum of the main portal rests upon two column-bearing lions. The lintel presents a bas-relief representing Christ surrounded by the Apostles. Of great interest are the three concentric fasciae that decorate the main portal, and the elegantly carved radial motif of the wheel window. In 1992 it was elevated to Secondary Pontifical Basilica. Its priceless pictorial decorations and the solemnity of its majestic architectural design make the Basilica of St. Catherine one of the most oustanding monuments of all Southern Italy.

Group that erected the marker: Galatina Municipality Address of where the marker is located. Approximate if necessary: Piazzatta Orsini Galatina, Italy URL of a web site with more information about the history mentioned on the sign: Not listed

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