Vodnjan, Chapel of St Catherine

The chapel of St Catherine is situated outside the medieval city walls and is today incorporated into the urban fabric of Vodnjan. This Romanesque church is characterised by a simple spatial layout. It is a single-nave structure with a prominent semicircular apse and a bell gable on the façade.

The interior was once entirely decorated with wall paintings, of which only a few fragmentary scenes dating to the late fourteenth century have survived. On the north wall, depictions of St Apollonia and the Mystic Marriage of St Catherine can be identified. The apse contains a representation of Christ Enthroned in a mandorla, surrounded by four saints. The south wall preserves only fragments of the Last Supper, while the west wall features a depiction of the Last Judgement. The scenes are framed by a simple bichrome border with punched geometric motifs. The author of these wall paintings is an anonymous master whose stylistic characteristics derive from the Trecento pictorial tradition.

The wall paintings were uncovered in 2009 and 2012 under the supervision of the Croatian Conservation Institute.

Iconographic programme:

East wall: 1. Maiestas Domini. South wall: 2. Last Supper. North wall: 3. St Apollonia, 4. Mystic Marriage of St Catherine. West wall: 5. Last Judgement.