Descrizione
The church, dedicated to St Catherine of Alexandria – who was martyred in 305 for refusing to renounce her faith in Christ – was built around the 13th century to honour the Egyptian saint, perhaps at the expense of some wealthy knight returning from the Crusades. The saint has always been regarded as the patron saint of unmarried women seeking a husband and of seamstresses, the so-called ‘Caterinette’.
The simple structure, and above all the underground section, bear witness to its antiquity, as this structure was built to allow people to gather in prayer when it was still dangerous to do so.
Documents relating to this church date from a later period: in the early 1700s, there is mention of a field near the estates of the Madonna della Vita, which ensured the upkeep of the church.
The importance of this small church to the people of Apecchia is perhaps due to the fact that its lower section housed our Most Holy Crucifix, veneration of which increased dramatically following the miraculous event of the earthquake on 3 June 1781. Indeed, the wooden Crucifix is credited with saving the entire population.
Due to its limited capacity, the church proved unsuitable for accommodating the large crowds who flocked there; consequently, in 1886, the Archpriest, Don Luigi Volpi, asked the Bishop for permission to move the Crucifix to the main church; this took place in 1889, after a location had been prepared that was ‘decently situated before the altar of the Most Holy Name of God in Pieve’, as stated in the document.
From that moment on, the church began to fall into disrepair; it has since been restored (2001).
