Shrine House of Saint Catherine
In Siena, the house to discover the figure of the patron saint of Italy
Crossed by the Via Francigena, Siena has always been a landmark for travelers and pilgrims, as is the Sanctuary House of St. Catherine located in the Fontebranda area.
The complex is located in the area that was once dedicated to wool processing. Here, in the first half of the 14th century, a house was rented to Catherine's father, the dyer Jacopo Benincasa, as a warehouse for dyeing cloth and as a home for his large family. And it was precisely the house that was transformed into the great sanctuary we see today, structured in various porticoes, loggias, churches and oratories built at different times.
The shrine is accessed through the Portico dei Comuni of Italy, built in 1939 to celebrate the proclamation of St. Catherine as Patroness of Italy, to reach its heart, namely the Church of the Crucifix where the wooden crucifix from which St. Catherine received the stigmata in 1375 is kept.
The Kitchen Oratory, built over the kitchen of the Benincasa family with the remains of the old household hearth where Catherine fell during one of her ecstasies, miraculously remaining unharmed, and the Oratory of the Chamber, which includes the small cubicle where she used to pray and rest, and where the stone on which she usually rested her head is still visible, cannot be missed.
