Dominican Church and Monastery

Dominican Church and Monastery of St. Catherine of Alexandria

The medieval convent complex with the church of St. Catherine of Alexandria was built on the site of an Early Christian church, dedicated to the same saint, of the 5th to the 6th century. The Dominican church and monastery were erected east of the walls of Diocletian’s Palace in 1217. The church was demolished at the time the city was fortified during the Candian (Cretan) War. After the war was over, from 1666 to 1682, the church and convent were rebuilt in Baroque style. The present appearance, however, is the result of major alterations from 1932 to 1934. In 1944 the convent was partially destroyed during Allied bombing. The church holds Baroque altars with paintings, of which those by Matija Ponzoni-Pontun and Sebastiano De Vita are particularly important.