The Church of Santa Caterina, located in Palermo's historic centre, adjacent to the monastery founded in the 14th century by monks of the Dominican order. The construction of the Church began in 1566 and was completed only in the late 16th century in 1596. The dome and choirs were added respectively in the mid-17th century, and in 1863. One of the facades of Santa Caterina goes to the Central square of the city Piazza Pretoria, topped with the namesake fountain, and the other on Piazza Bellini, where there are beautiful churches of Martorana and San Cataldo.

Rich interior nave of the Church of Santa Caterina times the counter-Reformation strikes at first sight. A special unit of the main hall allowed the nuns, unseen, to participate in the liturgies – is posted choirs at the entrance with the help of support from two columns. Decoration of internal spaces, as in most other churches of Palermo, consists of luxurious marble and frescoes, which harmoniously blends with the architectural load-bearing elements. Among the artists who worked on the decoration of the Church, is to provide Filippo Randazzo, author of "triumph of St. Catherine" and "the Glory of the Dominicans", written in 1744, and Vito D'anna, the Creator of the painting "the Triumph of the Dominican order" and "the Allegory of the continents", written in the second half of the 18th century.

Near the Church there are various tourist attractions - the historic square Quattro Canti and Palazzo dei Normanni, the Massimo Theatre and the city administration building, located in the Palazzo Pretorio in the eponymous square.