In the 20th century, Saint Zita became the patron saint of maids and domestic servants. However, her Latin Vita presents Zita primarily as a charity saint, ready to go beyond the duties of her condition to help the poor, and as a contemplative saint, immersed in prayer. Presumably, the Vita was written at the beginning of the fourteenth century, in milieu of the parish church of San Frediano, and her cult was promoted by the Fatinelli family, the family where Zita was a maid. This paper highlights the significant role played in the economic and political life of Lucca of the Fatinellis. The hagiographic proposal of the Vita of this Luccan maid can, thus, be read within the framework of contemporary lay and feminine hagiographical models, as for Verdiana da Castelfiorentino and Cristiana da Santa Croce, who have some common features with Zita. Later, the story of Saint Zita was presented in vulgar translations (from the modern age), and in other sources (e.g. the city chronicles). The paper analyzes the progressive shifting from the original model of a saint of charity and prayer, towards that of the holy servant, which let other hagiographical themes in the background.
Santa Zita è diventata nel Novecento la patrona delle domestiche. Ma la originaria Vita latina, redatta presumibilmente all'inizio del Trecento nell'ambiente della canonica di San Frediano, la presenta anzitutto come una santa della carità, pronta a oltrepassare i doveri della sua condizione per aiutare i poveri, e come una contemplativa, immersa nella preghiera. Il suo culto è stato diffuso soprattutto grazie all'iniziativa della famiglia Fatinelli, presso la quale Zita aveva prestato servizio, e di cui il saggio evidenzia il ruolo significativo svolto nella vita economica e politica di Lucca. La serva lucchese viene collocata nel quadro della diffusione di modelli di santità laicale e femminile, come quelli di cui sono portatrici Verdiana da Castelfiorentino e Cristiana da Santa Croce, che presentano alcuni tratti comuni. Viene inoltre analizzata la rielaborazione del modello originario di santa Zita nei volgarizzamenti di età moderna, nonché l'immagine trasmessa da altre fonti, come le cronache cittadine. In età moderna la figura di Zita viene progressivamente identificata col modello della santa serva, mentre altri motivi agiografici passano in secondo piano.
La vita di Santa Zita: contesto storico e rielaborazioni agiografiche,
Raffaele Savigni
2018
Abstract
In the 20th century, Saint Zita became the patron saint of maids and domestic servants. However, her Latin Vita presents Zita primarily as a charity saint, ready to go beyond the duties of her condition to help the poor, and as a contemplative saint, immersed in prayer. Presumably, the Vita was written at the beginning of the fourteenth century, in milieu of the parish church of San Frediano, and her cult was promoted by the Fatinelli family, the family where Zita was a maid. This paper highlights the significant role played in the economic and political life of Lucca of the Fatinellis. The hagiographic proposal of the Vita of this Luccan maid can, thus, be read within the framework of contemporary lay and feminine hagiographical models, as for Verdiana da Castelfiorentino and Cristiana da Santa Croce, who have some common features with Zita. Later, the story of Saint Zita was presented in vulgar translations (from the modern age), and in other sources (e.g. the city chronicles). The paper analyzes the progressive shifting from the original model of a saint of charity and prayer, towards that of the holy servant, which let other hagiographical themes in the background.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
