You may be planning a trip to Tuscany and looking at the kinds of activities that you can enjoy while there. There are plenty and a rather wide variety to choose from but you probably haven't considered mummy spotting as one of them. Yet, there are a few that can be found in rather unlikely spots. Here are two that you might find interesting if you're intrigued by history and the more macabre things in life.
Catherine of Siena was a Dominican tertiary, philosopher and theologian. Born in the 14th century, she began having visions of Christ at the age of five or six. At seven, she had decided to devote her life to God. She resisted marriage as a young woman until she was eventually allowed to join the Dominican Order.
She was known for helping the sick and poor and launching reform campaigns among the faithful. Catherine even went so far as to become involved in political matters like swaying the loyalties of cities back towards the papal armies.
Her writings spread her word further and gained more followers but she also became known for extreme devotion, eventually dying due to her refusal to eat. In 1461, she was canonised by Pius II and is now one of the two patron saints of Italy.
Siena, her birthplace, still remains the best place to see evidences of her life and works. The most intriguing of these is her head, which was separated from her body after her death in Rome when followers wished to return her to Siena. Unable to sneak her full body past guards in Rome, they settled for just her head which they smuggled out of the city. It is set in an ornate reliquary in the Basilica San Domenico (also known as Basilica Cateriniana, after the Saint) in Siena.
Catherine of Siena was a Dominican tertiary, philosopher and theologian. Born in the 14th century, she began having visions of Christ at the age of five or six. At seven, she had decided to devote her life to God. She resisted marriage as a young woman until she was eventually allowed to join the Dominican Order.
She was known for helping the sick and poor and launching reform campaigns among the faithful. Catherine even went so far as to become involved in political matters like swaying the loyalties of cities back towards the papal armies.
Her writings spread her word further and gained more followers but she also became known for extreme devotion, eventually dying due to her refusal to eat. In 1461, she was canonised by Pius II and is now one of the two patron saints of Italy.
Siena, her birthplace, still remains the best place to see evidences of her life and works. The most intriguing of these is her head, which was separated from her body after her death in Rome when followers wished to return her to Siena. Unable to sneak her full body past guards in Rome, they settled for just her head which they smuggled out of the city. It is set in an ornate reliquary in the Basilica San Domenico (also known as Basilica Cateriniana, after the Saint) in Siena.
The mummified head and her right thumb, set inside a smaller reliquary nearby, can still be viewed in the church today. Find a luxury villa in Siena and see it for yourself.
Resting in a glass coffin in the Dominican Church of San Marco in Florence, meanwhile, is the 550 year-old mummified relic of St. Antoninus, dressed in his ornate archbishop’s garb.
Another fascinating figure, he was made an archbishop against his wishes in the last 12 years of his life and only conceded when the pope threatened him with excommunication. He accepted the title but continued to live as a monk and only owned some simple furniture and a mule.
The church is already a must-see for art lovers and is considered something of a shrine to the Dominican order, as it is home to a large number of paintings by the great Dominican artist, Fra Angelico.
Resting in a glass coffin in the Dominican Church of San Marco in Florence, meanwhile, is the 550 year-old mummified relic of St. Antoninus, dressed in his ornate archbishop’s garb.
Another fascinating figure, he was made an archbishop against his wishes in the last 12 years of his life and only conceded when the pope threatened him with excommunication. He accepted the title but continued to live as a monk and only owned some simple furniture and a mule.
The church is already a must-see for art lovers and is considered something of a shrine to the Dominican order, as it is home to a large number of paintings by the great Dominican artist, Fra Angelico.
His body is remarkably (and somewhat alarmingly) well preserved and has never decayed or even become discoloured. Though the experience of seeing him up close is a little haunting, it is, nonetheless, fascinating and one more reason to pop into this amazing church on your next visit to Florence.
Just find a luxury villa in Florence and stop by San Marco to learn about this fascinating man and both his life and death.
Just find a luxury villa in Florence and stop by San Marco to learn about this fascinating man and both his life and death.
