The Cattolica
The Cattolica is a small greek-byzantine temple whose construction dates back to the 10th century, and it is situated at the foot of the Mount Consolino. The façades of the small church, having an almost square shape, are covered with belts consisting of red clay bricks, with the spaces between the junctions filled with mortar. On the left of the entrance door there is a recess which has been left as it was found in 1914, which might be an ancient tomb. On the top of the church there are five cylindrical domes covered with tiles placed in a rhombus shape and split in the middle by similar bricks, the roof and the domes are covered by yellow-reddish shingles.
On the top of the entrance door there is a wooden lintel placed on the jambs of the door itself. Above the lintel there is a semi-circular arch framed with cotto bricks. Within the structure four columns rise from the floor composed by red clay small squares: two of them are made of cipollino marble, one of Carrara marble and one of granite, and they support the vault of the ceiling, dividing the interior into nine equal squares, excluding the recess of the three apses.
On the shaft of the first column on the right a cross is engraved, and it is framed by a Greek inscription meaning: "God, our Lord appeared in front of us". Opposite the entrance door there is a large opening which might be both an ancient tomb and the ancient entrance of the monks who inhabited the caves on the mountain ridge, behind their small church. Of extraordinary value are also the frescoes kept in the Cattolica.
