Monastery of the Augustinians, Church of Santa Caterina

"The monastery of the Augustinians was founded in 1346, but there is news of a religious community already present since the late twelfth century. The current entrance is marked by a seventeenth-century portal, but the corresponding atrium reveals traces of fifteenth-century architecture in the door frames and the windows. The Conventual Church of Santa Caterina is adjacent, announced by a late sixteenth century stone portal, with the broken tympanum bearing the figure of Saint Catherine in the center. The interior is made up of a rectangular hall covered by a barrel vault, illuminated by four windows with ears, on a notched shutter frame. The grisaille decoration seems resumed perhaps on another pre-existent of the early nineteenth century, in the ovate medal of the vault we find an anonymous canvas representing St. Catherine.
Triumphant is instead the high altar in well-tuned polychrome marble, which reveals its noble late sixteenth century in the lively central bas-relief in golden stucco, depicting the martyrdom of Santa Caterina, by Federico Brandani, born with the same altar that ends with a broken tympanum on Corinthian columns. The bas-relief, perhaps mortified by the back gilding, but not recent, is the result of the extreme activity of the Urbino sculptor.
Also the two side altars, of a severe seventeenth century, have polychrome marbles in the cafeterias, and the wooden upper part that frames the paintings: San Michele among the saints Pietro and Barbara of Alfonso Patanazzi, Santa Teresa and Santa Caterina di Cialdieri.
Still of the Brandani we find the two medallions in gilded stucco in the gable of the two altars with saints Michele and Caterina.