Santa Caterina a Galatina: un monumento per la "latinizzazione" della Puglia greco-bizantina o per le ambizioni autonomistiche dei Del Balzo Orsini?

Abstract

Founded by the nobleman Raimondo del Balzo Orsini and favored by the papacy, the church of Santa Caterina in Galatina, along with its hospital and convent, has been interpreted as an instrument for the "latinization" of Greek-Byzantine Apulia. Certain aspects of the institution’s history, however, as well as its architecture and decoration, point to a different objective of the founding dynasty. By building and decorating the church in an unprecedented style that combined local traditions with new elements – while taking into account prominent dynastic foundations of southern Italy and importing significant relics from the Holy Land – the Del Balzo Orsini created a religious, political, and charitable center of high prestige and unique character that made visible the de facto sovereignty of the dynasty rivaling the crown of Naples.