Catana graduated with distinction in violin from the Conservatory of Padua and subsequently pursued advanced studies in Baroque and Classical violin, string quartet and chamber music, refining his skills with G. Fava, G. Carmignola, H. Beyerle, H. Müller, J. Meissl, O. Wille, A. Farulli, the Kuss Quartet and the Quartetto di Cremona.
He is the founder of the VenEthos Ensemble, a string quartet performing on period instruments, with which he appears for leading concert societies in Italy and abroad.
Alongside his chamber music activity, he regularly performs—also as concertmaster and soloist—with some of the most renowned orchestras specialising in historically informed performance, including the Venice Baroque Orchestra, La Cetra Barockorchester Basel, I Sonatori de la Gioiosa Marca, Il Pomo d’Oro and L’Arte dell’Arco.
He performs regularly in the world’s most prestigious concert halls and international music festivals, among them the Musikverein in Vienna, the Berlin Philharmonie, the Salzburg Festival, the Royal Albert Hall in London, the Auditorio Nacional in Madrid, the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris, the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, Carnegie Hall in New York, the National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing, Tokyo Opera City, Kioi Hall and Toppan Hall in Tokyo, and the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall in Moscow, collaborating with internationally renowned musicians.
He has recorded for Deutsche Grammophon, Warner, Decca, Alpha and Arcana, and has appeared in live television and radio broadcasts for major Italian and international networks, including Bayerischer Rundfunk, RAI, WQXR, Radio Télévision Suisse, ORF and Radio Clásica.
He is a Professor of Chamber Music at the Rovigo Conservatory.