Church of Santa Caterina

A short distance from Piazza del Duomo stands the Church of Santa Caterina, now entrusted to the Romanian Orthodox parish of San Lorenzo. The current building, commissioned by Monsignor Giuseppe Roero, was built in the early 18th century as the external church of the cloistered Dominican monastery. Nothing remains of the previous 14th-century structure, which was now in precarious condition.

The façade, designed by Count Carlo Giacinto Roero di Guarene, is punctuated by two orders of columns: Doric in the lower register and Ionic in the upper one. The interior is dominated by the high altar, with a canvas by Sebastiano Taricco dedicated to the Martyrdom of Saint Catherine of Alexandria (1705). The original decoration of the presbytery vault, dating back to 1711, is now covered by 20th-century repainting.

The presbytery also houses a large painted and gilded wooden crucifix from the first half of the 15th century. The central, circular hall is adorned with four stucco statues dedicated to saints associated with the order and local devotion.