The Altar of St. Catherine
of Alexandria displays a
beautiful painting of the
martyrdom of the saint by
Jacopo Palma the Younger.
The picture shows St. Catherine
being rescued by an angel
from the torture of the
wheel, while her executioners
are killed.
The altar is completed by
the Lombard style sepulchral
urn of theVenetian Captain
Jacopo Barbaro and a small
marble relief of St.Joseph
of Copertino in glory. The
following monument is the
Altar of St. Joseph of Copertino
known as the saint of flight.
The altar assumed its present
form in 1753 when the statues
by Alessandro Vittoria were
removed and replaced by
the painting by Giuseppe
Nogari depicting the saint
in ecstasy before the holy
cross.
More statues by Vittoria
are above the altar and
on the sides, but his masterpiece
stands in the centre: the
statue of St. Jerome ( 1564
),whose anatomical realism,
strength and expression
are worthy of Michelangelo's
works.
Another fine monument nearby
is the one commissioned
by the Serenissima in 1666
for the Prince of Modena
Almerico d'Este, commander
of the French auxiliary
troops during the war of
Candia.