| « Previous | Home | Next » | santa fina 30 June, 2007 |
 photo: david lindley this is the house where supposedly a young girl lived and died who would eventually be canonised to become santa fina. as you can see from the house name plate she died when she was only fifteen, in 1253 ad, having lived - as far as i can see - a short and painful existence. her story runs along the following lines. fina was born to poor parents in 1238 in san gimignano, an attractive girl who always shared her meagre food with people worse off than herself in the neghbourhood. it seems her father died when she was young and at about the same time fina was struck by disease which virtually paralysed her and ravaged her good looks. in some kind of desire to suffer like jesus on the cross, she lay for the next six years on a plain wooden plank unable to move. throughout this time she never complained despite being in terrible pain; believing her faith would carry her through. when her mother too died, fina was left alone and shunned by most of the other villagers - she prayed constantly to st. gregory to give her patience to suffer and eight days before her death he appeared to her and said that on his festival day god would give her rest. when she finally died and her body removed it was found that the now rotten plank was covered in little white violets. the whole town - who had previously shunned her - attended her funeral and apparently numerous miracles were recorded around this time, usually being attributed to fina. to this day, the white violets that flower in the area are known as 'fiori di santa fina'. | |
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Posted by davidlindley Archived under: tuscany |
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