medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
The hermit and thaumaturge Giovanna (d. earlier fourteenth century) is the patron saint of Signa (FI) in Tuscany. According to her late fourteenth-century Vita et Miracula (BHL 4288r; betw. 1383 and 1396), she came from a family of Tuscan shepherds and already as a child was known for her miraculous ability to protect livestock from hailstorms. When she reached adolescence Giovanna settled down as a recluse at a location south of Signa near to where the road to Pistoia crosses the Arno. There she lived quietly, operated miracles, and attracted a small community of followers to whom the Capitani of the Company of Orsanmichele in Florence made a donation in 1306, recording it in a way suggesting that she was then still alive. The year of Giovanna's death is uncertain but is often given as 1307, following the inscription on her wooden sarcophagus (in Signa's pieve di San Lorenzo) painted in 1438. She was buried near a local church dedicated to St. John the Baptist; in 1348, following her postmortem cure of a Black Death victim named Nuta, a chapel was erected at her grave. At the beginning of the sixteenth century the chapel was incorporated in the church, which latter, Signa's since rebuilt chiesa di San Giovanni Battista, keeps her mummified remains:
http://notizie.comuni-italiani.it/foto/87623
http://notizie.comuni-italiani.it/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/DSCN0937.jpg
http://notizie.comuni-italiani.it/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/DSCN0936.jpg
http://tinyurl.com/o69fvkg
In addition to her feast today (her _dies natalis_) Giovanna has a locally celebrated translation feast on Easter Monday.
Some period-pertinent images of B. Giovanna of Signa:
a) as depicted in 1438 by Pietro di Gambassi on her wooden sarcophagus:
Grayscale:
http://catalogo.fondazionezeri.unibo.it/foto/160000/132800/132532.jpg
In color (smaller image):
http://tinyurl.com/p6q6g46
b) as depicted in 1441 and in 1462 (scenes from her Vita) on facing walls of the sanctuary in Signa's chiesa di San Giovanni Battista:
1441: http://www.lastraonline.it/public/immapagineimma/507.jpg
1462: http://www.lastraonline.it/public/immapagineimma/512.jpg
Enlargeable thumbnails of each scene, with Italian-language explanations, will be found at the bottom of this page:
http://www.lastraonline.it/p/storia.php?idpag=365
Best,
John Dillon
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