St Catherine Sanctuary, Siena

St Catherine of Siena is one of Siena's most revered citizens. She is known as "the mystic of politics" and fought corruption in the Catholic Church. She traveled to convince the Pope to move back to Rome from Avignon.

The St. Catherine Sanctuary is not a church but rather Catherine's home, which now includes several chapels and a cloister with a marble well.

St. Catherine was born in this home in 1347 and lived here with her 23 siblings. At an early age, she joined the Dominican order of nuns and devoted her life to caring for the ill and poor. The order allowed nuns to serve from their homes rather than living in a convent.

The home has been adapted and changed over the centuries, but it is still a place of peace, reverence, and pilgrimage. Walls are decorated with frescoes depicting St Catherine's life. Visitors can see the tiny room Saint Catherine slept in.

The Chapel of the Crucifix features a 12th-century crucifix. This cross was responsible for miraculously piercing St. Catherine's hands, feet, and heart with the stigmata of Christ. St Catherine died young at the age of 33 in 1380. She was canonized in 1461.