Santuario Casa di Santa Caterina

About the museum

The shrine occupies the house in which Catherine Benincasa, daughter of the dyer Jacopo, lived in the Fontebranda district. Having become a Dominican tertiary, Catherine continued to live in her father’s house, following the lay way of life of the Third Order; for this reason the place most closely linked to her memory is the dwelling rather than a convent.

In 1466, shortly after her canonisation, the Comune di Siena bought the building so that it would remain open to public veneration. Over the centuries the confraternity dedicated to the saint and the offerings of the faithful transformed the house into a shrine rich in works of art: today the route includes a sixteenth-century loggia atrium, the Baroque church of the Crucifix built between 1614 and 1623, the Oratorio della Cucina (kitchen oratory), the Oratorio della Camera on the lower floor and the Cappella delle Confessioni.

The church houses the painted wooden crucifix of the Pisan school, from the end of the thirteenth century, in front of which Catherine received the stigmata in Pisa in 1375; the cross came to Siena in 1565. The present entrance is the Portico dei Comuni d’Italia, commissioned by Archbishop Marco Toccabelli after Catherine was proclaimed patron saint of Italy in 1939, and completed in 1947.

Highlights

• Painted wooden crucifix of the stigmata in the church of the Crucifix
• Kitchen Oratory with the panel by Bernardino Fungai (1496) and remains of the ancient hearth
• Oratorio della Camera with scenes from the saint’s life
• Cubicle with the stone on which Catherine rested her head, and some relics
• Portico dei Comuni d’Italia with busts of the popes linked to the saint

Permanent exhibition

• Percorso del santuario – Church of the Crucifix, Kitchen Oratory, Oratorio della Camera, cubicle and Chapel of Confessions, with paintings devoted to Catherine’s life.

Founded

1466

Admission & discounts

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible: no information
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom: no information
• Accessible parking: no information
• Service dogs welcome: no information
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

The Oratorio della Camera is on the lower floor, reached by a staircase.

Kids & families

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Getting there & parking

The entrance to the shrine is the Portico dei Comuni d’Italia, in the Fontebranda district.

Amenities & dining

• Museum shop

Small bookshop to the left of the entrance atrium.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.