ABSTRACT
Zita Bernabovi died of old age after a simple life. At the age of twelve she had been taken as a maidservant into the house of the wool merchant Pagano Fatinelii in Lucca, where she remained for the rest of her life. She was canonized by Pope Nicholas III soon after her death in 1278. Her festival on 27 April became one of the most popular in the city. She is said to have given food from her master’s larder and clothing from his wardrobe to the poor. Her small and shrivelled body can be seen today, preserved in a side chapel of the church of San Frediano in her home city.
