Fina (Serafina) (1238–1253) was an Italian Christian

virgin Virginity is a social construct that denotes the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. As it is not an objective term with an operational definition, social definitions of what constitutes virginity, or the lack thereof ...

who is especially venerated in the Tuscan town of

San Gimignano San Gimignano (; named after St. Geminianus) is a small walled medieval hill town in the province of Siena, Tuscany, north-central Italy. Known as the Town of Five Towers, San Gimignano is famous for its medieval architecture, unique in the pr ...

. She developed a paralytic illness and spent the rest of her life on a bed made from a wooden pallet, where, according to legends,

Saint Gregory the Great Pope Gregory I (; ; – 12 March 604), commonly known as Saint Gregory the Great (; ), was the 64th Bishop of Rome from 3 September 590 until his death on 12 March 604. He is known for instituting the first recorded large-scale mission from Rom ...

appeared to her to predict her death.

Life

Fina dei Ciardi was born in San Gimignano in 1238."St. Seraphina", FaithND
/ref> The daughter of Cambio and Imperiera Ciardi, a declined noble family, she lived in a humble house located in the historic centre of the famous “city of beautiful towers” (today the small road on which her house stands takes her name). There is little record of the first ten years of her life, and what information available comes from legends narrated after her death. She learned to sew and spin, spending most of her time at home. Some accounts note Fina's strong devotion to the

Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

, and that she went out only to hear

Mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...

. In 1248, Fina contracted a serious illness which progressively left her paralysed. Instead of a bed, she chose to lie on a wooden pallet. Eventually, she developed painful

pressure sores Pressure ulcers, also known as pressure sores, bed sores or pressure injuries, are localised damage to the skin and/or underlying tissue that usually occur over a bony prominence as a result of usually long-term pressure, or pressure in comb ...

. During her illness, she lost her father and later her mother died after a fall. Despite these trials she never complained, but kept a joyful countenance and gave thanks to God. Fina's immense devotion was an example to all the citizens of San Gimignano, who frequently visited her. Visitors were surprised to receive words of encouragement from a desperately ill young girl who was resigned to the will of God. Fina had a particular devotion to

. On March 4, 1253, after five years of sickness and pain, she allegedly experienced a vision of St. Gregory, wherein he foretold her death. Fina died as predicted on March 12 at the age of 15.

Legends

Miracles attributed to Fina are mentioned in stories, paintings, poems and in notary documents. Legends say that, at the exact moment of Fina's passing away, all the bells of San Gimignano rang without anyone touching them."Festa di Santa Fina", Fondazione Sisterna Toscana
/ref> One legend tells that during a walk with two of her friends she heard a young girl, Smeralda, crying. Smeralda had broken a pitcher that her mother had given her in order to fill with water from the public well. While she was entertained by other children, she forgot the pitcher on the ground which unfortunately rolled down and broke. Fina told her to arrange the pieces and put them under the water: the pitcher became whole and full of water. When Fina's body was removed from the pallet that was her deathbed, onlookers saw white violets bloom from the wood, and smelt a fresh, floral

fragrance An aroma compound, also known as an odorant, aroma, fragrance, flavoring or flavor, is a chemical compound that has a smell or odor. For an individual chemical or class of chemical compounds to impart a smell or fragrance, it must be sufficien ...

throughout her house. Violets grow on the walls of San Gimignano. For this reason, the townspeople call them “The Saint Fina violets.” For several days, pilgrims went to the Pieve to see Fina's remains and during that time there were reports of a number of cures. One concerned her nurse Beldia, whose hand was healed. Many sick people who visited her grave during the following years were said to have experienced cures and some of these became some of Fina's most fervent devotees. Another anecdote about Fina's miracles is that of the Ciardi family's neighbor. Once on the anniversary of Fina's death, when the townsfolk had declared a holiday in her honor, a neighbor, Cambio di Rustico, went to cut wood and hurt his leg. He asked Fina's pardon and was very sorry for not having respected her memorial. His cut then miraculously disappeared.

Veneration

Miraculous healings were attributed to Fina's intercession. Her feast is celebrated in San Gimignano on both 12 March, the anniversary of her death, and on the first Sunday in August. Her

relics In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains or personal effects of a saint or other person preserved for the purpose of veneration as a tangible memorial. Reli ...

are kept in a chapel in the

Collegiata di San Gimignano The Collegiata di Santa Maria Assunta or Duomo di San Gimignano is a Roman Catholic collegiate church and minor basilica in San Gimignano, in Tuscany in central Italy. It contains important cycles of Italian Renaissance, Renaissance frescoes by ar ...

. A hospital in San Gimignano was formerly named in her honor and several paintings of her can be found in the town. A

papal bull A papal bull is a type of public decree, letters patent, or charter issued by the pope of the Catholic Church. It is named after the leaden Seal (emblem), seal (''bulla (seal), bulla'') traditionally appended to authenticate it. History Papal ...

issued by

Pope Sixtus IV Pope Sixtus IV (or Xystus IV, ; born Francesco della Rovere; (21 July 1414 – 12 August 1484) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 August 1471 until his death in 1484. His accomplishments as pope included ...

on October 1481, confirmed by

Pope Paul III Pope Paul III (; ; born Alessandro Farnese; 29 February 1468 – 10 November 1549) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 October 1534 to his death, in November 1549. He came to the papal throne in an era follo ...

in 1538, permitted the public cult and veneration of Saint Fina. Her feast on 12 March has been a statutory holiday in the town since 1481. The second feast on the first Sunday of August commemorates her stopping two plagues that ravaged the town in 1479 and 1631. On both days, her relics are carried in

procession A procession is an organized body of people walking in a formal or ceremonial manner. History Processions have in all peoples and at all times been a natural form of public celebration, as forming an orderly and impressive ceremony. Religious ...

in order to bless the town. Fina is considered a patroness and protector of the town along with Saint Gimignano.

Legacy

A hospital was built in 1255 thanks to donations given at her tomb and named after her. It became in the following century one of the best in Tuscany, giving hospitality to the old and poor people and pilgrims. The building remained in function until the end of the 20th century. In the hospital's chapel, the original oak wood table where Saint Fina lay down for five years is preserved.

Iconography and biographies

The most important monument dedicated to Saint Fina is her chapel in the Collegiata, designed by

Giuliano da Maiano Giuliano da Maiano (1432–1490) was an Italian architect, intarsia-worker, and sculptor, the elder brother of Benedetto da Maiano, with whom he often collaborated. Biography He was born in the village of Maiano, near Fiesole, where his fath ...

in 1468 and consecrated in 1488. Her relics are located inside the altar built by Giuliano's brother

Benedetto da Maiano Benedetto da Maiano (1442 – 24 May 1497) was an Italian Early Renaissance sculptor. Biography Born in the village of Maiano (now part of Fiesole), he started his career as a companion of his brother, the architect Giuliano da Maiano. When ...

. On the left and right walls of the Chapel there are two frescoes painted by

Domenico Ghirlandaio Domenico di Tommaso Curradi di Doffo Bigordi (2 June 1448 – 11 January 1494), professionally known as Domenico Ghirlandaio (also spelt as Ghirlandajo), was an Italian Renaissance painter born in Florence. Ghirlandaio was part of the so-c ...

: one shows the vision of Saint Gregory; the other shows the funeral where the violets in blossom on the towers are represented."Obsequies of St. Fina", ''Feminae'', University of Iowa
/ref> Also depicted is an angel ringing the bells, Beldia's cured hand and the self-portrait of the painter and his brother-in-law Mainardi, who painted the chapel's ceiling. Inside the Civic Museum of San Gimignano there is a wood tabernacle painted by

Lorenzo di Niccolò Lorenzo di Niccolò or Lorenzo di Niccolò di Martino was an Italian painter who was active in Florence from 1391 to 1412. This early Renaissance artist worked in the Trecento style, and his work maintains influences of the Gothic art, Gothic styl ...

in 1402 depicting Saint Fina holding a model of San Gimignano along with eight scenes of her life and miracles. Another image of Fina is in the nearby church of Sant'Agostino, painted by

Benozzo Gozzoli Benozzo Gozzoli (; born Benozzo di Lese; 4 October 1497) was an Italian Renaissance painter from Florence. A pupil of Fra Angelico, Gozzoli is best known for a series of murals in the Magi Chapel of the Palazzo Medici-Riccardi, depicting festi ...

. Other artists depicting the saint's life include

Piero del Pollaiuolo Piero del Pollaiuolo ( , , ; also spelled Pollaiolo; – by 1496), whose birth name was Piero Benci, was an Italian Renaissance painter from Florence. His older brother, by about ten years, was the artist Antonio del Pollaiuolo and the two fre ...

and

Pier Francesco Fiorentino Pier Francesco Fiorentino (1444/1445 – after 1497) was a 15th-century painter active in San Gimignano for much of his mature life, depicting religious-themed subjects. Biography Fiorentino was born in Florence, the son of the Florentine pa ...

. Fra Giovanni del Coppo wrote the earliest hagiography of Saint Fina (“Historia vita et morte di Sancta Fina da San Gimignano”, written on 14th century and translated from Latin by Jacopo Manducci in 1575). Many others have tried to tell Saint Fina's life (Enrico Castaldi, Giovanni Bollando, Filippo Buonaccorsi, Teodoro Ferroni, Ignazio Malenotti, Luigi Pecori, Ugo Nomi Veronesi Pesciolini, and Enrico Fiumi).

References

Sources

* Vichi, Iole Imberciadori. ''Fina dei Ciardi'' (1979)

External links

Announcement of Death to St Fina
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fina, Saint 1238 births 1253 deaths People from San Gimignano 13th-century Christian saints 13th-century Italian people 13th-century deaths from tuberculosis Roman Catholic child saints Italian children Italian Roman Catholic saints 13th-century Italian women Christian female saints of the Middle Ages San Gimignano Tuberculosis deaths in Italy Infectious disease deaths in Tuscany