In one of the oldest neighborhoods of Castronovo stands the Church of Saint Catherine of Alexandria, also known as the Church of the Badia.This name recalls the abbey once attached to it and governed by a Mother Abbess until the 19th century.

The present building was constructed in 1523 on the ruins of an earlier church dedicated to Saint Stephen the Protomartyr, which stood next to a convent of nuns.

In 1790, the church was restored and took on its current architectural style — a blend of Romanesque and Corinthian elements.

Inside, the artistic hand of master Antonio Messina is visible.

The church features a single nave and a main altar in marble, above which rises a statue of Saint Catherine of Alexandria. Among the most notable paintings are The Mystical Marriage of Saint Catherine, The Virgin Mary mourning the dead Christ, and Saint Anthony the Abbot, all attributed to Fra Fedele of San Biagio.

One of the church’s most striking features is the intricately carved wooden chancel screen, with an elegant openwork balustrade. At its center is a painted canvas bearing the emblem of Castronovo.

Outside, the neighborhood still preserves traces of its Arab origins. At the foot of the Royal Mountain, near two natural springs, rose the historic settlements of Rabat and Rakal-Biat, developed between the 12th and 13th centuries. In the urban planning of the Arab period, a rabat referred to a suburb located outside the walls of a castle or fortified city, typically inhabited by working-class people.

It was in this area that humble trades and crafts were concentrated: tanneries, dye works, warehouses, and workers' homes. Today’s urban layout still reflects that heritage.

At the heart of the district still stand a stone fountain and a public washhouse, whose waters once powered the many mills located downstream.