Santa Caterina

Gilia Pandolfi

High above, with a view of the distant sea, lies the village of Santa Catarina.

Situated on the wide ridge between the valleys of the Ombrone and Albegna rivers and originally consisting of various remote and ancient hamlets along an age-old route of transhumance and trade between the Mountain and the Maremma.

In an environment populated by stories and legends, these hamlets known as Case Saloni, Momini, Galli, Rossi, Pereti, Le Querciolaie, Le Campane, I Casini, La Croce, Il Pilocco, and Il Cecio, together took the name of Santa Caterina. Saint Catherine of Alessandria or of the wheel, to whom the people of Roccalbegna, grateful for a miracle received on the day of her liturgical feast November 25th, dedicated a small church on the watershed facing the Albegna valley.

In the second half of the nineteenth century, Francesco Corridori, a blacksmith by profession, chose Pianona as the most suitable place for a modern neighborhood that would serve as the center for all the hamlets. Today Santa Caterina is a well populated and lively town, with various artisanal enterprises. In the summer heat it is sought after for the peace and coolness the surrounding area offers and the possibility of visiting the Ethnographic Museum. On the eve of November 24^th there is the suggestive Fiaccolata, a ritual fire festival of ancient and legendary origin dedicated to Saint Catherine. The locals wrestle for control of the “stollo”, a long symbolic wooden pole, used in the celebration to construct the “Focarazza”, or bonfire.

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