Chiesa di Santa Caterina

The Church of Santa Caterina in Lucca is a major example of Baroque religious architecture, notable for its oval plan and gilded dome.

Why it matters

Built for cloistered nuns, the church was designed by Francesco Pini between 1738 and 1748 on a constrained urban site. Its curved facade follows the street corner, while its interior gives the eighteenth century a distinctive presence in a city known for Romanesque architecture. It is also associated with Lucca's cigar-making history and the workers known as sigaraie.

What to notice

The single oval hall rises to a gilded dome with an open centre. Bartolomeo De Santi's frescoes of putti and saints decorate the dome's base. Low grilles recall the church's original enclosed use. Pompeo Batoni's Ecstasy of Saint Catherine is now in the Museo di Palazzo Mansi; a later altarpiece by Giovanni Lorenzetti Fusari occupies the left altar.

Context and history

The church grew from a convent dedicated to Saint Catherine. Its rebuilding gave the enclosed community a Baroque setting. At the end of the nineteenth century, tobacco-factory workers gathered there before work, giving it the popular name Chiesa delle Sigaraie. After decades of disuse, a restoration campaign involving FAI and public heritage bodies renewed the building's cultural life.