Santa Caterina Museum

SANTA CATERINA A TREVISO. HISTORICAL INFO AND VISIT

Built by the order of the Servants of Mary on the ruins of the old palazzo belonging to the Da Camino family, powerful lords of Treviso, in 1346, the former church of St. Catherine of Alexandria has a fascinating history. Suppressed in 1772 and subsequently used as a barracks and arsenal, during the Second World War it suffered significant damage during the bombing campaign that devastated the city.
It was following these events that, under a layer of 16th century plaster, a cycle of 13-14th century frescoes, considered “one of the most interesting anthologies of medieval paintings in the Veneto”, was rediscovered and brought to life, with works attributed to the school of Gentile da Fabriano and the unforgettable depiction of St. Catherine holding a little model of the city of Treviso.
Another authentic masterpiece that will take your breath away, the Legend of Saint Ursula by Tommaso da Modena, hangs in the small spaces of the former church, while the 120 metres of canvases, removed from a chapel of the Church of Santa Margherita degli Eremitani by abbot Luigi Bailo, will take you through the key events in the life of the martyred daughter of the King of Brittany. But your visit to the complex of Santa Caterina doesn’t finish here.


THE CONVENT OF THE SERVANT OF MARY: ARCHAEOLOGY AND ART GALLERY

Under the two evocative 16th century cloisters that characterise the former convent of St. Mary, in the spaces that once hosted the friar servants, you will be able to admire the Museum’s archaeological collections: valuable testimonies of the human activities that took place throughout the Treviso area (from the Prealps to the urban area of Treviso) over a period of 300,000 years.
In perfect continuity with the story illustrated on the lower floor, on the first floor, in the so-called “long sleeve”, you can visit the medieval, renaissance and modern art gallery: an important excursus into Venetian painting from the 14th to the 18th century with a new exhibition featuring artists of the calibre of Cima da Conegliano, Giovanni Bellini, Lorenzo Lotto, Titian, Giambattista and Giandomenico Tiepolo.

The Museo di Santa Caterina will take you on a genuine trip back in time to discover the history of Treviso and those who loved and celebrated it.
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