The Monastero and Chiesa di Santa Caterina d’Alessandria form a major Dominican convent complex in Palermo’s Kalsa quarter, sited between Piazza Bellini and the Fontana Pretoria and celebrated for its synthesis of Renaissance, Baroque, and Rococo decoration.

A female Dominican community was established from the legacy of Benvenuta Mastrangelo in 1310; the monastery occupies the former palace site of George of Antioch, admiral to Roger II. Major reconstruction and enlargement took place between 1566 and 1596 under Mother Prioress Maria del Carretto, producing the church as we see it today and inaugurated on 24 November 1596. The complex suffered damage across 19th-century uprisings and in WWII bombings; the last resident nuns left in 2014 and the site has since been opened for public access and exhibitions.

The church presents a restrained Renaissance facade framed by Corinthian pilasters leading into a single nave flanked by shallow chapels and a wide transept. The interior is richly decorated with stucco, statues, polychrome marbles, frescoes, and elaborate Rococo detail typical of Sicilian Baroque refinement.

Via Maqueda, also called Strada Nuova, is a principal straight thoroughfare in Palermo connecting Piazza Verdi near the Teatro Massimo with Porta di Vicari close to the central station; it forms, with the Cassaro (Via Vittorio Emanuele), the Baroque cross centered on the Quattro Canti.

The street was planned in 1577 and opened during the viceroyalty of Bernardino de Cárdenas y Portugal (Duke of Maqueda); its construction, completed around 1599 and inaugurated in 1600, responded to traffic needs and aristocratic demands for new representational frontage in the city. Via Maqueda is a straight axial boulevard about 1.5 km long that deliberately crosses Palermo’s medieval fabric; its intersection with the ancient Cassaro creates the celebrated Quattro Canti, a theatrical Baroque node that organizes sightlines and processional movement through the historic centre. Churches and oratories — notable stops include San Giuseppe dei Teatini, Santa Ninfa dei Crociferi, and the Martorana cluster near Piazza Bellini. Fontana Pretoria and the Quattro Canti ensemble are immediate offshoots from the Maqueda axis.

Via Vittorio Emanuele, historically known as the Cassaro, is Palermo’s oldest and principal east–west spine running from Porta Felice at the sea past the Royal Palace to Piazza Indipendenza, forming the ancient urban axis of the city.

The street dates to Palermo’s foundation in the Phoenician/Punic period and served to connect the port with inland necropoleis and settlements. In the Islamic period it was called As-Simat Al-Balat; later Platea Marmorea because of marble paving; in the late 16th century it was straightened and named Via Toledo; after Italian unification it became Via Vittorio Emanuele II while the old name Cassaro remains in popular use.

The Cassaro functions as the city’s primary ceremonial axis, intersecting the rectilinear Baroque route of Via Maqueda at the Quattro Canti and linking major monuments, markets, and civic spaces. The road extends roughly 1.8 km through the historic centre connecting seafront approaches with the Cathedral and the Royal Palace.

References

• en.wikipedia.org
• audiala.com
• lionsinthepiazza.com
• en.wikipedia.org
• en.monasterosantacaterina.com
• www.spottinghistory.com
• en.wikipedia.org
• www.tripadvisor.com

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