Church of Santa Caterina (19th century)

The Church of Santa Caterina, adjoined to the monastery of the same name, was built around the mid-19th century.

The presence of a Benedictine monastery in Montone dates back to ancient times, although its origins vary according to various legends. It is said that it was originally built by a certain Caterina of Rome at the beginning of the 13th century, and dedicated to St. Catherine of Alexandria. The first site was established in Col di Cambio, and the nuns adopted the rule of St. Benedict.

When the nuns decided to move their community to the town they settled near San Fedele, and a vaulted passageway was built so that they could easily reach the church. With the purchase of several neighbouring properties, the residence was gradually extended.

In 1571 the apostolic visitor, Paolo Maria della Rovere, sent to ensure that the decrees of the Council of Tridentino were implemented, found that the convent was very poor. In order to help the nuns, he taxed the Confraternity of the Gonfalone which ran the church and the hospital of San Fedele.

In the 17th and 18th centuries, the religious community had an average of twenty-four nuns. In 1702, a minimum dowry of three hundred scudi was required for admission to the convent of Santa Caterina di Montone.

Finally, the period of economic hardship seemed to be over, but unfortunately other difficulties soon arose. With the French invasion and the confiscation of the property of religious orders, the Benedictine nuns of Santa Caterina gathered in Città di Castello at the Convent of the Giulianelle.

Meanwhile, the monastic building where the Benedictine nuns lived in Montone, near San Fedele, had been designated for the expansion of the hospital for the sick.

The nuns wanted to return to Montone, however, so the bishop purchased the Palazzo dei Marchesi Bufalini near the fortress for them. The new monastery was inaugurated in 1827, but it soon proved to be too small and inadequate, and this was primarily due to the absence of a church. Driven by this urgent requirement, the nuns and the diocese embarked on the construction of a new church which, with all its “comforts”, was consecrated on 24 June 1869. The Benedictine nuns left Montone for good in 1953.

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