Church of Santa Caterina d'Alessandria

Facciata Chiesa di Santa Caterina (L. Corevi, Comune di Pisa)

Three blind arches support two floors of walkable gothic-style loggias and in the centre stands the large rose window, rebuilt in 1927. The lunette shows a mosaic representing the Madonna with Child, a work by Vittorio Bagnoli of 1930. Along its 90 meters of length, priceless treasures can be discovered, such as the sarcophagus of Archbishop Saltarelli (1342), the work of Andrea Pisano (the same author of Madonna del Latte for the church of the Spina, now in the museum of San Matteo) and the Trionfo di San Tommaso, colossal work by Francesco Traini (early fourteenth century). These are followed by a small wooden chair used by San Tommaso d’Aquino, which introduces us to the transept area, where there are five large chapels. We can note an attempt to enlarge the church, begun in 1343, but interrupted due to the plague of 1348 (right side of the transept). Beyond the iron gate opens the chapel of the Fallen, with the Pietà by Santi di Tito, a pupil of Raphael. Returning towards the exit we find the Martirio di Santa Caterina by Aurelio Lomi, brother of Orazio Gentileschi and uncle of Artemisia, and the beautiful sarcophagus of 1419 by Gherardo di Bartolomeo di Simone Compagno.

History in a nutshell: founded in 1220 by the Dominican Uguccione Sardo, the building was almost completed in 1261, with the exception of the façade, which was finished in the 14th century. The temple is attributed to the work of Giovanni di Simone, as is the terracotta bell tower, perhaps a prototype of that of San Francesco. Nothing remains of the large marble cloister, since it was destroyed in 1785 to open the archiepiscopal seminary, which still exists today.

The chapels: five in total. The first is that of the Venerosi, where we find the Crucifixion from the 14th century attributed to Giovanni di Nicola; the Buzzaccherini chapel hosts a copy of a panel of San Domenico by Francesco Traini, now in the National Museum of San Matteo. The large main chapel is dominated by the Gothic stained glass window and introduced by the statues of the Annunciation by Nino Pisano, son of Andrea, from the second half of the fourteenth century. Under the altar the tomb by Fra Girolamo da Rivalto; follows the Roncioni chapel, with a beautiful marble dossal with the Madonna and Saints Girolamo and Domenico, a work by Matteo Civitali; finally, the SS. Sacramento chapel.

The windows: they were almost completely rebuilt between 1922 and 1924 by the Zettler company from Munich (restored in 1948 by the Quentin company from Florence) and there are 9 of them on the left wall of the central nave and 6 on the right, depicting various Saints. The one in the main chapel stands out, with S. Caterina, S. Ranieri, S. Torpé and many others.

The birth of glasses: 'it is not yet twenty years that the art of making glasses was created. Glasses improve your sight and that is one of the best and most necessary arts that the world has, and it is so new... I met the one who first created it, and spoke to him'. With these words, Fra Giordano da Pisa (or da Rivalto) consecrated the birth of glasses, spreading the news everywhere thanks to his sermons. Who was the one who first created it? It was the Pisan Dominican Alessandro della Spina who, following Seneca's studies, according to which the objects observed through water placed in a glass beaker were enlarged, created a leather structure that held two round lenses together and was tied behind the head. His first experiments were made right inside the convent of Santa Caterina.