Treasures in Puglia: the Basilica of St. Catherine of Alexandria in Galatina

Let's visit one of the treasures of Puglia, the Basilica of Saint Catherine of Alexandria in Galatina: a real art gallery in one of the most important church of Salento.

I have a thing for cathedrals. They’re not just places of worship, but they played a fundamental role over the centuries. Building a cathedral or a basilica was a sign of devotion towards the Church, yes, but it was overall a way to show support to the pope. The more the commissioner paid to make a cathedral rich and majestic, the more important the engagement between the commissioner and the Vatican was. Here why many cathedrals and basilicas are proper museums and here why I like them so much.

Some of them are so beautiful and precious that they’ve become unique examples and today I’ll talk about one of them that is here in Puglia: the Basilica of St. Catherine of Alexandria in Galatina.

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I knew about its existence, I wanted to visit it, but I hadn’t decided to go yet. One day, without thinking about it and without much organization, I took the car and went there. “It’s just a couple of hours from here… What am I waiting for?!” And here I am, driving south, in the middle of Salento to reach Galatina.

The Basilica is in the old town centre, which is a pedestrian area, so I park my car and go ahead on foot.

The Facade of the Basilica of St. Catherine of Alexandria

What do I do when I’m in front of a basilica? Go inside immediately? No, I don't. Usually, the spectacular starts outside with the facade, so I always take my time to have a global view and to let me hit by visual impact at first, then to look at the details. Trust me: this basilica not just deserves the time I’m dedicating to it, but, if I just had a fleeting and distracted look, I’d cut myself off from half of the beauty that it can offer.

There it is, the facade kissed by afternoon sunlight. In front of the central portal, two lions support columns; your eyes go up to reach where eagles dare, that stay as the lookouts of the Christ and his apostles carved on the architrave and surrounded by intricate embroidery in Lecce stone; higher, as a star, the rose window shines in its two circles of inlays.

The Interior of the Basilica of St. Catherine of Alexandria

I enter from the portal on the left to go on the lateral aisle. Turning right to go in the central aisle, through the arch I can see a little piece of wall with frescos. Passed the arch, that little piece become bigger and bigger until I can see a fresco that covers all the walls of the aisle. They don’t look like walls, but like a big canvas. The colors, the figures, the columns and the light are perfectly in harmony.

Looking at the paintings, I can understand the meaning: they’re not just decorations, but the narration of biblical happenings. I can recognize the scenes of the Apocalypse, Adam and Eve intent on biting the apple, Christ’s story and the hosts of angels. 

In the area of the choirs, there’s the cenotaph of Giovanni Antonio Orsini del Balzo, whereas on the lateral wall there’s Raimondo Orsini del Balzo’s one: this church has been built thanks to them. On the other hand, Raimondo’s wife, Maria d’Enghien, commissioned the frescos to local painters and to some workers of Giotto and Sienese school.

Are you still wondering why you should visit this basilica? So, let me give you another couple of reasons to see it.

The Basilica of St. Catherine of Alexandria is a unique piece in Puglia. It’s second just to the Basilica of Assisi. It’s something that you can’t find anywhere else in Puglia. Being in this basilica is like visiting an art gallery!

Some other reasons to visit the Basilica of Galatina

If we want to see it from an emotional point of view, being surrounded by so much beauty would be enough, but I tell you more. 

We’re in a holy place and you can feel it: the environment is solemn, the height of the central aisle, the blue, the gold, the red of frescos, figures now reassuring, as the hosts of angels, and now frightening, in the Apocalypse cycle, awaken mixed feelings: they remind that we’re just little human beings, who must keep in mind that they’re not invincible and raise the spirit thanks to the wonder of all this splendor. 

According to me, this is the sign of a successful work of art, in particular in a church of Roman and Gothic style, that is to say, the capability of reminding to ego that it’s not infallible with its grandeur, and to caress the soul with its beauty.