Entering the Basilica of San Clemente in Laterano, a few steps from the Colosseum, means immersing yourself in the pure Middle Ages, with its wonderful mosaic on the apse or Cosmatesque floor. Not to mention the interesting underground area which, better than in other areas of Rome, makes us understand how the Eternal City is made up of various historical layers. But in a historic church like this there is also something else, like a frescoed chapel that takes us back to the beginnings of the Renaissance, as well as to the knowledge of one of the most famous saints of the Christian liturgy. I'm talking about the Branda Castiglioni Chapel and Santa Caterina d'Alessandria.

The name of the chapel derives from Cardinal Branda Castiglioni who, at the urging of Pope Martino V Colonna, gave new impetus to the arts by promoting and restoring churches and chapels. This, in particular, was entrusted to the expert hands of Masolino da Panicale with, most likely, the help of a young Masaccio. Therefore we are in a particularly fruitful period for art, so much so that it is also used as a political instrument, as well as simply an aesthetic one. At the back of the chapel there is a Crucifixion, on the right wall some episodes from the life of Saint Ambrose while on the left, in photos, scenes from the life of Saint Catherine of Alexandria. Let's follow together the salient steps of the saint's hagiography. We are at the beginning of the 4th century and Maximinus Daia, emperor of that sector of the empire, learned of this woman who had the audacity to proclaim the supremacy of God over the other gods. Then the emperor challenged Catherine to refute his theses in front of a crowd of Roman and therefore pagan wise men. The strength of Catherine's faith was so strong that it converted all the wise men, including the emperor's wife herself. Angry as ever, Massimino had his wife killed (she is seen dressed in black intent on talking to Caterina, placed inside the cell in which she was locked up). The wise men fared no better, as you can see in the first box at the bottom left, as they were burned alive. The idea of showing the martyrdom of these wise men through an open window in the room where Caterina spoke with them was daring. Same pictorial space but different times. The emperor later moved on to actual torture against Catherine (with the aid of the cogwheel), but due to divine intervention she did not die. Only after decapitation did Catherine's earthly life end. A pictorial cycle that has the city of Alexandria in the background. Let us remember that the latter was, initially, one of the centers of paganism "due to" its fantastic library (completely destroyed by a fire supported by the emperor Theodosius I and bishop Theophilus at the end of the 4th century), then completely Christianized and home to one of the oldest Christian communities. These frescoes, which almost follow the rhythm of a comic with precise boxes dividing the wall and the scenes , give us the example of a woman aware of her ideas, firm in her faith enough to openly challenge an emperor and his more fruitful intellectuals. A clear example of martyrdom which gives us the idea of how, already five centuries ago, attempts were made in every way, even through art, to show the faithful virtuous examples of Christianity , even the most extreme ones.

A theological and philosophical background that tells a lot about the Rome of the time, led by a pontiff who, after all, only became such following a council wanted by the emperor Sigismund of the Holy Roman Empire. Despite this, however, the pontiff had the opportunity to leave an indelible mark in Rome, thanks also to pictorial works of this kind.