Oratorio di Santa Caterina a Rimezzano, Florence

Just a few kilometers from Florence, this stone oratory set in the hilly Tuscan landscape is considered a small Gothic jewel. The members of the aristocratic Alberti family built the chapel in the 14th Century on their land. Originally they were a family of judges, and they dedicated it to Saint Catherine of Alexandria, protector of judges and notaries. Their coat of arms with crossed chains decorates the inside walls. The interior is frescoed with the stories of the life and martyrdom of the princess-saint. It seems that two different painters, Master of Barberino and Pietro Nelli—both Tuscan artists active at the middle of the 14th Century—have worked on the pictorial decorations. - Maria Frullini

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