Church of Saint Caterina a Formiello

Just off Piazza Garibaldi, behind Porto Capuana, is the unheralded 16th century Church of Caterina a Formiello. In the 19th century, it was turned over to the Italian Army and converted into a wool factory. It has since been re-consecrated.

The Saint Caterina of this church is Saint Catherine of Alexandria. The picture of her on the left is by Raffael; on the right, Caravaggio.

Formiello is a word that comes from Latin. It refers to the situation of the church and its formerly attached Celestine convent next to aqueducts, which have since been removed.

There is its cupola behind Porto Capuana.
This is a little piazza out in front.
This is a picture of its exterior (courtesy of Wikipedia).
It's unassuming on the outside . . .
But it hits another gear on the inside.






This fellow is St. Jacob. He is the patron saint of Spain. I almost got the impression he wanted to talk to me, so if I end up in Spain, you'll know why. According to the placard, St. Jacob was the first of the apostles to be martyred by beheading. Oh dear, I hope that's not what he wanted to talk about.

These are some of the relics of the 800 martyrs of Otranto.