PFSCL LIII, 104 DOI 10.24053/ PFSCL-LIII-002 Le Rouge et le Noir: Biographies of Pious Women between France and Italy in the Seventeenth Century M ATTIA Z ANGARI U NIVERSITÀ DEGLI S TUDI DI P ALERMO Mysticism, Spiritual Formation and Models of Sanctity between Italy and France in the Seventeenth Century The period between the late sixteenth and early eighteenth centuries saw a flourishing of religious women and mystics whose behaviour was notoriously exalted or, at times, even disturbing. Examples include the ‘stunts’ of Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi, who danced, flagellated herself and jumped along the convent ledge, or those of Veronica Giuliani, who, in her throes of ecstatic exaltation, ran through the convent garden, rang bells, climbed trees and dragged large objects on her shoulders in an attempt to mimic the ascent to Calvary. Aside from the notorious institutional problems, the seventeenth century was characterised by deep anxieties and forms of female religiosity that, in retrospect, appear far removed from the model proposed by Benedetto Croce. He maintained that an accurate understanding of the seventeenthcentury female profile required imagining a literate woman who produced religious writings 1 , and it is precisely this ‘distance’ from Croce’s vision that was noted thirty years ago by church historian Mario Rosa - who in turn had sketched a ‘gallery’ of seventeenth-century holy women 2 . 1 B. Croce, “Donne letterate nel Seicento”, in Id., Nuovi saggi sulla letteratura italiana del Seicento, Bari, Laterza, 1931, pp. 154-171. 2 M. Rosa, “La religiosa”, in R. Villari (a cura di), L’uomo barocco, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 1993, pp. 187-227, here 198. Mattia Zangari PFSCL LIII, 104 DOI 10.24053/ PFSCL-LIII-002 26 As Silvano Razzi 3 and Paolo Mini 4 had pointed out in the last quarter of the sixteenth century, the highly articulated spiritual dimension of Florence in the modern age was characterised by a strong religious tradition. The mendicant orders had established themselves and divided the city among their communities: S. Maria Novella was home to the Dominicans, the Silvestrians settled at S. Marco, the Servites were present at SS. Annunziata, the Carmelites and the Augustinians operated at S. Maria del Carmine and S. Spirito, respectively 5 . As Giuliano Agresti observed in reference to St Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi (1566-1607) 6 , the spectrum of mystical women in the 3 “Conciosiacosa che parte abbia questa provincia havuto da Dio una cosi fatta grazia e privilegio, che in lei sia in modo fiorita ogni maniera di religione, che gl’antichi Romani appresero dai Toscani primieramente il modo di sacrificare, e tutte l’altre cerimonie al loro falso culto e falsa religione pertinenti”. S. Razzi, Vita de’ santi e beati toscani de’ quali infino a hoggi comunemente si ha cognizione, Firenze, Sermartelli, 1627, p. 6. 4 Paolo Mini, in turn, stated that Florence was an ‘antidote’ to heresy, given the vigour of religious sentiment there: “Et a questi tempi infelici che il rabbioso vento dell’eresia cerca di spegnerlo, più che mai lo conserva [intendi: il sentimento religioso], lo difende e lo argumenta, producendo cavalieri fortissimi sotto il patrocinio di S. Stefano, vergini sacre et compagnie serventissime di carità et di penitenza, tale e sì fattamente che egli è maggiore in lei, più ardente, più vivo e più bello che egli in verun tempo giammai in qual si voglia altra città d’Europa”. P. Mini, Difesa della città di Firenze e de’ fiorentini contra le calunnie et maldicentie de’ maligni, Lione, Filippo Tinghi, 1577, pp. 87-89, cit. in M.P. Paoli, “‘Nuovi’ vescovi per l’antica città: per una storia della Chiesa fiorentina tra Cinque e Seicento”, in C. Limoni (a cura di), Istituzioni e società in Toscana nell’età moderna, vol. II, Firenze, EDIFIR, 1994, p. 759. 5 F. Cardini, Breve storia di Firenze. Dalle origini al 1860, Pisa, Pacini, 1990, p. 50. 6 G. Agresti, Santa Maria Maddalena de’ Pazzi. L’amore non amato. Un’antologia delle sue opere, Roma, Città Nuova, 1974, pp. 56-71. The bibliography on Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi is impressive, so I will mention only a few of the most significant works concerning the critical bibliography: G. Pozzi, “Patire e non potere nel discorso dei santi”, in Studi medievali, XVI, 1985, pp. 1-52; Id., “L’identico del diverso in s. Maddalena de’ Pazzi”, in Freiburger Zeitschrift für Philosophie und Theologie, XXXIII, 1986, pp. 517-551; T. Zaninelli, “Influssi culturali nell’esperienza mistica di santa Maria Maddalena de’ Pazzi”, in Rivista di ascetica e mistica, I, 1992, pp. 53-55; A. Scattigno, “Maria Maddalena de’ Pazzi tra esperienza e modello”, in G. Zarri (a cura di), Donna, disciplina, creanza cristiana dal XV al XVII secolo. Studi e testi a stampa, Roma, Edizioni di Storia et Letteratura, 1996, pp. 85-101; A. Maggi, Uttering the Word: The Mystical Performances of Maria Maddalena de’ Pazzi, a Renaissance Visionary, Albany, State University of New York Press, 1998; Maria Maddalena de’ Pazzi, translated and introduced by A. Maggi, Preface by E.A. Matter, Mahwah (NJ), 2000. For further bibliography about Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi, see infra. Le Rouge et le Noir: Biographies of Pious Women between France and Italy PFSCL LIII, 104 DOI 10.24053/ PFSCL-LIII-002 27 City of the Lily fully absorbed the influences of the aforementioned spiritual currents. By contrast, women’s education was primarily influenced by spiritual works such as Teresa of Avila’s Way of Perfection 7 , the Vitae of Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi 8 and, above all, devotional manuals, such as Giovanni Maria Marchi’s Colomba spirituale 9 , published in Florence in 1634. The case of St Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi herself - a figure described by Divo Barsotti 10 as “disconcerting, distant, strange, incomprehensible, and illegible” 11 - appears, in fact, to reflect this type of formation. The Carmelite of noble origins - who took the veil at the convent of S. Maria degli Angeli - embodied the Italian female saint of the Counter-Reformation, especially through her voluntary submission to enclosure and her heroic virtues 12 . Alongside Pazzi, another mystical figure emerged as a model of contemporary religiosity, the Dominican nun Catherine de’ Ricci 13 , who maintained significant epistolary exchanges with the Carmelite of S. Maria degli Angeli and whose canonisation would not take place until 1746. As Anna Scattigno has written, the spiritual experience of Ricci - a mystic and a stigmatist - was characterised primarily 7 For example, the Carmelite nun Sister Paola Maria Giustiniani di Gesù, of the Florentine nunnery of St. Teresa, in April 1665, recommends reading the Way of Perfection to an aspiring nun, i.e. Maria Maddalena Giacomini, lady-in-waiting to the Grand Duchess Vittoria della Rovere: A Maria Maddalena Giacomini, 22 April 1665, Monastery Archive of St. Teresa, Re. Fond. B3.I.48, quoted in A. Scattigno, “Lettere dal Convento”, in Per lettera: la scrittura epistolare femminile tra archivio e tipografia. Secoli XV-XVII, Roma, Viella, 1999, pp. 313-357, cf. p. 347, n. 98. 8 C. Vasciaveo, “Le Vite storiche di S. Maria Maddalena de’ Pazzi”, in Teresianum, II, 2020, pp. 289-324. 9 G.M. Marchi, Colomba spirituale, cioè alcuni spirituali ragionamenti (…), Firenze, Pietro Nesti, 1634. 10 D. Barsotti, Introduzione a suor Diomira del Verbo Incarnato (Margherita Allegri), Scritti e detti, Prefazione di D. Barsotti, Firenze, Libreria Editrice Fiorentina, 1979, p. 6. 11 B. Secondin, Santa Maria Maddalena de’ Pazzi. Estasi e dottrina, Roma, Institutum Carmelitanum, 1974, p. 27 [my translation]. 12 S.F. Matthews Grieco, “Modelli di santità femminile nell’Italia del Rinascimento e della Controriforma”, in Donne e fede. Santità e vita religiosa in Italia, a cura di G. Zarri e L. Scaraffia, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 1994, pp. 303-325, here p. 322 13 About these, see Scattigno’s excellent commentary, namely focused on the letter (5 th of August, 1586), by Pazzi side, to Ricci: A. Scattigno, “La vocazione religiosa nella tradizione femminile fiorentina tra XVI e XVII secolo”, in P. Piatti (a cura di), Caterina da Siena e la vita religiosa femminile, Roma, Campisano, 2020, pp. 349-376, here p. 349 ff. Mattia Zangari PFSCL LIII, 104 DOI 10.24053/ PFSCL-LIII-002 28 by the renewal of religious life and by the “gradual learning of the knowledge of love” (apprendimento graduale della conoscenza d’amore) 14 . Both the mystical path of Pazzi - whose “words of ecstasy” 15 were recorded by her fellow nuns - and that of Ricci - whose memory remained vivid in the monastery through the accounts of the sisters, the madri antiche (“the old mothers”), and through the regular reading of her Vita in the refectory and workroom 16 , serve to introduce another aspect of Florentine religiosity at the time: the importance of the canonisation processes that were being initiated. In 1623, in the presence of Archbishop Marzi Medici, the processus remissorialis for Catherine de’ Ricci was opened. It formed part of a broader and ambitious campaign encouraged by Marzi Medici himself who, in an effort to revitalise Florentine religious history - fractured by the legacy of Savonarola - had promoted multiple canonisation causes, which - perhaps due to the papal brief Celesti Hierusalem - were soon brought to a halt, except for the beatification of Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi 17 . 14 A. Scattigno, Sposa di Cristo: mistica e comunità nei Ratti di Caterina de’ Ricci, con il testo inedito del XVI secolo, Roma, Edizioni di Storia e Letteratura, 2011, p. x. Furthermore, in order to have an overview about Catherine de’ Ricci, see: Ead., “‘Carissimo figliolo in Cristo’. Direzione spirituale e mediazione sociale nell’ epistolario di Caterina de’ Ricci (1542-1590)”, in L. Ferrante, M. Palazzi e G. Pomata (a cura di), Ragnatele di rapporti. Patronage e reti di relazione nella storia delle donne, Torino, Rosenberg & Sellier, 1988, pp. 219-223. 15 M. M. de’ Pazzi, Le parole dell’estasi, a cura di G. Pozzi, Milano, Adelphi, 1984. As is well known, given the florid mystical life of the young nun, the confessor claimed to get a detailed report about of her mystic experiences; afterward, Pazzi’s sisters organized themselves in such a way as to transcribe what Mary Magdalene uttered during the rats: one group of nuns memorized and another group wrote down, so as to transmit the “parole dell’estasi” [i. e. the “words of ecstasy”]. 16 A. Scattigno, Sposa di Cristo, pp. 112-113. 17 In addition to the Processus Remissorialis about Aloysius de Gonzaga’s miracles [Processo remissoriale sui miracoli di Luigi Gonzaga] (1610) one may consider: the remissorial process on the life and miracles of Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi [Processo sulla vita e i miracoli di Maria Maddalena de’ Pazzi] (1611-1613); the Processo informativo on the life and sanctity of Ippolito Galantini (1623-1627); the Processo remissoriale for Saint Catherine de’ Ricci (1623); the Processo remissoriale for the beatification and canonisation of Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi (1624); the Processo sulla vita e i miracoli concerning Domenica da Paradiso (1624); the Process for the Umiliana de’ Cerchi beatification (1625). The trial for Domenica da Paradiso continued after the Marzi Medici death (in 1630), however, in 1634, with the brief Celesti Hierusalem cives, the Inquisition's control over the cult of saints’ prodromes was reaffirmed and, consequently, the cause was halted until 1743. For the same reasons, one may suppose, the other Processi were also halted, with the exception of that for Pazzi, outlined along the lines of the Carlo Borromeo’s one. See: Le Rouge et le Noir: Biographies of Pious Women between France and Italy PFSCL LIII, 104 DOI 10.24053/ PFSCL-LIII-002 29 Shifting the focus beyond Florence and adopting a broader perspective, it can be said that, at the time, there were two main models of spiritual life. Firstly, the Iberian model, which was centred on the recovery of observance - exemplified by the work of the Discalced Carmelites (1652) and the Discalced Trinitarians (1597) - was widespread across Catholic Europe and in overseas territories that would later be hispanised 18 . Secondly, the less austere French model - crucial in shaping early modern spiritual life and focused primarily on the establishment of new congregations, such as the Congregation of Notre-Dame, the Daughters of Charity and the Visitandines - was widely adopted across France and beyond 19 . And with regard to the French context, one may mention en passant other equally well-known religious experiences, such as that of Marie de l’Incarnation (1559-1672). Initially a wife and later an Ursuline, she devoted herself to the evangelisation of indigenous Amerindian women after arriving in Canada, through her connection with the reformed Cistercians and the Jesuits 20 . Equally significant is the wave of demonic possession that affected European convents during the seventeenth century, with considerable political, social and religious repercussions 21 . Particularly emblematic in this regard is A. Scattigno, Sposa di Cristo, cit. p. 109, n. 1. Concerning Marzi Medici: G. Aranci, Formazione religiosa e santità laicale a Firenze tra Cinque e Seicento, Firenze, Pagnini Editore, 1997, pp. 75-85; M.P. Paoli, “‘Nuovi vescovi’ per l’antica città: per una storia della Chiesa fiorentina tra Cinque e Seicento”, in Istituzioni e società in Toscana nell’età moderna, Atti delle giornate di studio dedicate a G. Pansini (Firenze, 4-5 dicembre 1992), Roma, “Pubblicazioni degli Archivi di Stato”, Ministero per i beni culturali et ambientali, 1994, pp. 748-786. For further documents about the different judicial procedures: M. Gotor, Chiesa e santità nell’Europa moderna, Roma- Bari, Laterza, 2004. 18 A. Domínguez Ortiz, Las clases privilegiadas en la España del Antiguo Régimen, Madrid, Ediciones ISTMO, 1973. 19 J. de Viguerie, Le catholicisme des français dans l’ancien régime, Paris, Nouvelles Éditions Latines, 1988. 20 F. Deroy-Pineau, Marie de l’Incarnation. Marie Guyart femme d’affaires, mystiques, mère de la Nouvelle France 1599-1672, Paris, Éditions R. Laffont, 1989. 21 Regarding the demonic possessions who took place in the nunneries, one may take into account the following bibliographical ‘lines’. Concerning possessions in France in the early 17 th century: P.D. Walker, Possessione ed esorcismo. Francia e Inghilterra fra Cinque e Seicento, Torino, Einaudi, 1981; M. de Certeau, La possessione di Loudun, Bologna, CLUEB, 2011 (or. ed. La possession de Loudun, riv. da L. Giard, Paris, Gallimard, 2005); M. Carmona, Le diables de Loudun. Sorcellerie et politique sous Richelieu, Paris, Fayard, 1988; J.L. Pearl, The Crimes of Crimes. Demonology and Politics in France, 1560-1620, Waterloo, Ont., Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 1999; S. Ferber, Demonic Possession and Exorcism in Early Modern France, London-New York, Routledge, 2004. In the case of Italian nunneries: A. Jacobson Schutte, Mattia Zangari PFSCL LIII, 104 DOI 10.24053/ PFSCL-LIII-002 30 the well-known case among the Ursuline nuns of Loudun, masterfully recounted by Michel de Certeau in the twentieth century. It marked a moment of great tension 22 , and brought considerable notoriety to the prioress, Jeanne des Anges (1602-1665) - initially a possessed woman, later a mystical spiritual mother and author of revelatory writings 23 . Loudun had long been under Huguenot control, but after the Edict of Nantes (1598), it came under Catholic administration, which had far-reaching consequences for the town’s political and organisational structure 24 . In addition to the ecclesiastical authority, civil jurisdiction also played a role in this highly complex case and, ultimately, one may state that the affair was a confrontation between Urbain Grandier, curate of the church of Saint-Pierre du Marché, and Cardinal Richelieu - with unexpected repercussions on the social sphere 25 . Turning briefly to the French context at the time of the Wars of Religion, it is worth mentioning the experience of the Port-Royal Cistercian nuns - a “My Satanic Spouse: Nuns and Sexual Possession in Early Modern Italy”, in Civis, 21, 1997, pp. 163-75; G. Dall’Olio, “Alle origini della nuova esorcistica. I maestri bolognesi di Girolamo Menghi”, in G. Paolin (a cura di), Inquisizioni: percorsi di ricerca, Università di Trieste, 2001, pp. 81-125; V. Lavenia, “I diavoli di Carpi e il Sant’Uffizio (1636-1639)”, in M. Rosa (a cura di), Eretici, esuli e indemoniati nell’età moderna, Firenze, Olschki, 1998, pp. 77-139. For the German context: L. Roper, Oedipus and the Devil. Witchcraft, Sexuality and Religion in Early Modern Europe, London - New York, Routledge, 1994; E.H.C. Midelfort, “The Devil and the German People: Reflections on the Popularity of Demon Possession in Sixteenth Century Germany”, in S. Ozment (ed.), Religion and Culture in the Renaissance and Reformation, Sixtheenth Century Essays and Studies, 11, 1989, pp. 99-119; Id., A History of Madness in Sixtheenth Century Germany, Stanford University Press, 1999. 22 In order to partially detect this issue, behind the Michel de Certeau’s classic book, La possession de Loudun, see particularly the introduction to the Italian edition, written by Rossana Lista, pp. 7-22 (La possessione di Loudun: una tragedia del linguaggio). For the rich bibliography concerning Loudun issue, see the apparatus of the same edition. 23 About Jeanne des Anges, I took into consideration the following works: M. Carmona, Sœur Jeanne des Anges, diabolique ou sainte au temps de Richelieu? , Bruxelles, A. Versaille, 2011; F. Cavallera, “L’autobiographie de Jeanne des Anges d’après des documents inédits”, in Recherches de Science religieuse, 18, 1928, pp. 224-35; A. Gimaret, “L’Autobiographie de Jeanne des Anges (1644): histoire d’une âme ou réécriture d’une affaire de possession? ”, in Études Épistémè, 19, 2011, pp. 22-49. Furthermore, see the following work, albeit older: T. Griguer, “Historiographie et médicine. À propos de Jeanne des Anges et de la possession de Loudun”, in Annales de Bretagne et de pays de l’Ouest, II.99, 1992, pp. 155-163. 24 R. Lista, La possessione di Loudun: una tragedia del linguaggio, op. cit., pp. 58-61 and passim. 25 Ibidem. Le Rouge et le Noir: Biographies of Pious Women between France and Italy PFSCL LIII, 104 DOI 10.24053/ PFSCL-LIII-002 31 focal point in the history of French Jansenism 26 . After coming into contact with a group of secular intellectual figures (following Rome’s condemnation of the five doctrinal propositions of Jansenius’ Augustinus), the nuns rejected the signing of the document formally accepting the condemnation, thus becoming a symbol of Jansenist resistance itself 27 . In this regard, it should be recalled that, precisely as a result of the Protestant protest against the cult of saints, the Church established that the truthfulness of documents pertaining to sanctity had to rest on solid foundations - namely, on witnesses who, thanks to their authoritativeness, would constitute proof of sanctity. In other words, canonisation processes would be required to ‘prove’ holiness through the testimony of eyewitnesses, who would attest to the existence of heroic virtues that, in turn, had to correspond to precise criteria 28 . However, such proof could take shape in different ways. Aside from legal proof based on autoptic testimony, considerable importance was also attached to the ‘humanistic’ evidence involving the critical analysis of written sources relevant to the saintly candidates, as well as to the ‘empirical’ proof rooted in natural philosophy - at the time in the hands of physicians engaged in investigating the phenomenology of sanctity 29 . As Jacques Le Brun pointed out in the case of French female saints, the changes in canonisation procedures resulted in an evolution in post- Tridentine hagiographic writings. Indeed, biographers no longer seemed to be interested, at least in France, in presenting figures of proclaimed sainthood, but rather aimed to present biographical profiles of women candidates for sainthood whose sanctity had not yet been recognised 30 . Moreover, as Éric Suire has shown, canonisation dossiers and post-Tridentine biographies appear to have influenced each other, although edifying biographies increasingly tended to anticipate the documents and expectations of the Sacred Congregation of Rites 31 . In short, all the conditions were in place for the 26 M. Rosa, La religiosa, op. cit., p. 215. 27 Ibid. For an overview, see: R. Taveneaux, La vie quotidienne des jansénistes aux XVII e et XVIII e siecles, Paris, Hachette, 1973. 28 D. Fliege, M. Guthmüller, P. Stenzig, “Preuve et introspection dans l’hagiographie française après le Concile de Trente”, in Papers on French Seventeenth Century Literature, XLIX, 96, pp. 11-42, here 23 and passim. Furthermore see: J. Touber, Low, Medicine and Eingineering in the Cult of the Saints in Counter-Reformation Rome: The Hagiographical Works of Antonio Gallonio, 1556-1605, Leyde, Brill, 2014. 29 Fliege, Guthmüller, Stenzig, “Preuve et introspection”, op. cit., p. 24. 30 J. Le Brun, Sœur et amante. Les biographies spirituelles féminines du XVII e siècle, Genève, Droz, 2013. 31 É. Suire, La sainteté française de la Réforme catholique (XVI e -XVIII e siècle), Bordeaux, BUP, 2001; Id., “Procès de canonisation et hagiographies en français au temps de la Mattia Zangari PFSCL LIII, 104 DOI 10.24053/ PFSCL-LIII-002 32 emergence of a new kind of spirituality. This was already apparent in the experiences of Teresa of Avila (though not exclusively), where the contemplative life became closely intertwined with the active life, not least in response to the social upheavals of the period: the looming French Revolution and Napoleonic era. This brief picture - to which both Ludovico Antonio Muratori’s cattolicesimo illuminato (“enlightened Catholicism”) and Alfonso Maria de’ Liguori’s benignismo attivo (“active benignism”) should be linked 32 - is the starting point of the examination of the female biographies that shaped women’s religious life in the seventeenth century. As can be inferred, although less elusive than the mystical writings containing - to quote Michel de Certeau - “the unstable metaphor of the inaccessible 33 ,” the religious women’s biographies of this period still raise complex questions, both of an epistemological and a phenomenological nature. 1. Hagiography and Experience Before addressing the topic at hand, it is important to note that the analysis centres on complex texts 34 that are never written in the first person. 1) First and foremost, these hagiobiographical texts mirror the lived experiences of the women they portray. In both the French and Italian contexts, many of these biographies are grounded in earlier autobiographical writings by the religious women themselves, or, in some cases, originate from texts composed by the mystics under divine dictation 35 . Réforme catholique : une construction de la preuve en miroir? ”, in Papers on French Seventeenth Century Literature, XLIX, 96, 2022, pp. 43-64. 32 See again: M. Rosa, La religiosa, op. cit., pp. 221-225. 33 M. de Certeau, La fable mystique, Paris, Gallimard, 1982. For a recent commentary on the issue: L. Azzanti Fumaroli, “Michel de Certeau. Linguaggio nella storia: silenzio sulla morte e parola mistica”, in Rivista di filosofia neoscolastica, CXIV, 2/ 3, 2012, pp. 437-468, pp. 442-443. 34 Concerning the difficulty in categorising these texts, consult: J. Le Brun, Sœur et amante, op. cit. Concerning the topic of commissioned autobiography, consult the extensive bibliography available: I. Poutrin, Le voile et la plume. Autobiographie et sainteté feminine dans l’Espagne moderne, Madrid, Casa de Velázquez, 1995; pretty important also the volume ed. by G. Zarri, Finzione e santità tra medioevo ed età moderna, Torino, Rosenberg & Sellier, 1991, namely see the part entitled: Tra autobiografia e repressione, pp. 329-520; E. Bottoni, “‘Noi donne haviamo il capo addobbato per sognare’: scrittura mistica e direzione spirituale nel diario di Barbara Fivoli (1717- 1764)”, in Archivio italiano per la storia della pietà, 13, 2000, pp. 275-403; A. Malena, Le Rouge et le Noir: Biographies of Pious Women between France and Italy PFSCL LIII, 104 DOI 10.24053/ PFSCL-LIII-002 33 2) Secondly, experience plays a central role in these texts, as the authors focus exclusively on spiritual, especially mystical, experiences that enable union with God. The many women to whom these tales were addressed could thus emulate the lives of the biographical subjects, embarking on their own spiritual paths and mystical journeys. Moreover, in narrating the lives of these women, the biographers themselves engage in an inner journey, thereby producing what Bartolomei Romagnoli has described as a form of autobiography. In short, writing a biography also serves as a means of recognising and affirming the spiritual worth of the pious women 36 . 3) Another indication linking these texts to the theme of experience derives from the concept of mysticism. It is widely acknowledged that the mystical dimension - found only in the Italian works under consideration - should be seen as a journey shaped by the interplay of two elements: the voice of the male biographer and that of the female mystic 37 . 4) Furthermore, in most cases, the life trajectory of the pious women emulates the experiences of earlier female saints - usually associated with the same spiritual context. For example, the entire cohort of seventeenth-century Florentine mystics examined in this study reflects a distinct tradition of female sanctity, with figures such as Domenica da Paradiso (†1553), St Catherine de’ Ricci (†1590), and St Mary Magdalen de’ Pazzi (†1607) serving as reference “Esperienze religiose femminili e direzioni ecclesiastiche nella Toscana del ’600”, in M. Duranti (a cura di), Il “sentimento” tragico dell’esperienza religiosa: Veronica Giuliani (1660-1727), Napoli, ESI, 2000, pp. 243-268; E. Bottoni, “Paolantonia Novelli (1667-1742), fondatrice delle cappuccine di Meldola: il caso settecentesco di una santa mancata”, in A. Horowski (a cura di), All’ombra della Chiara Luce, Roma, Istituto storico dei Cappuccini, 2005, pp. 307-357; A. Malena, “Madri in spirito. Note di lettura su direzione spirituale e discorso autobiografico negli scritti di Paola Maria di Gesù Centurione (1586-1646) e Francesca Toccafondi (1638-1685)”, in S. Boesch Gajano ed E. Pace (a cura di), Donne tra saperi e poteri nella storia delle religioni, Brescia, Morcelliana, 2007, pp. 317-339; C. Coletti, Iconismi, lettere ardenti e Bambini di cera. Chiara Isabella Fornari, “anima viatrice” nelle inquietudini religiose del Settecento, Napoli, Guida, 2020, pp. 41-92. M. Zangari, La santa e il Giglio. Mistiche nella Firenze del Seicento, Roma, Carocci, 2022, pp. 121-144. About the spiritual direction in Protestant contexts: E. Botonaki, “Seventeenth Century English Women’s Spiritual Diaries. Self-Examination, Covenanting and Account Keeping”, in Sixteenth Century Journal, I.30, 1999, pp. 3-21. 36 A. Bartolomei Romagnoli, Santità e mistica femminile nel Medioevo, Spoleto, Centro italiano di studi sull’alto medioevo, 2013, § Agiografia e modelli di santità. Le Vitae matrum di Tommaso da Cantimpré, pp. 103-49, p. 105. 37 For a selection of works on this topic, see: Ead., “Donne e uomini che scrivono di donne”, in Quaderni di storia religiosa medievale, XXII, 2019, pp. 143-168; Ead., “Il silenzio e la parola nella mistica femminile del Duecento”, in Vita religiosa al femminile (sec. XIII-XIV), Roma, Viella, 2019, pp. 107-128. Mattia Zangari PFSCL LIII, 104 DOI 10.24053/ PFSCL-LIII-002 34 models for emulation 38 . By doing so, the works under consideration create a play of mirrors, in which hagiographic dimensions reflect one another. 5) Simultaneously, these biographies intersect with spiritual direction texts 39 , such as the Colomba spirituale by Giovanni Maria Marchi 40 , explicitly referenced in the same sources. They describe a model of spiritual formation resembling ‘cooperative learning’ 41 , conceived with a laboratory approach in which sacramental celebration, confession, homiletics, correspondence, and private spiritual counselling occurred in tandem 42 . 6) Last but not least, experience becomes memory. The biographies, which recount extraordinary experiential journeys, serve as channels for transmitting monastic memory. As several scholars have noted when examining the Italian canonisation processes, these Lives were passed on orally, both through autoptic accounts produced by nuns who had been in direct contact with women who died in the odour of sanctity 43 , and through reading aloud 38 For instance, regarding the Florentine saintliness tradition, consult: A. Scattigno, La vocazione religiosa, op. cit., pp. 349-376; M. Zangari, La santa e il Giglio, op. cit., particularly pp. 20-29 and passim. 39 Concerning the most important works on spiritual direction for this period, consult: G. Zarri, Libri di spirito. Editoria religiosa in volgare nei secoli XV-XVII, Torino, Rosenberg & Sellier, 2009; see also: M.P. Paoli, “‘Nel grado che siete…’. Etica urbana e catechesi cristiana tra XV e XVII secolo: il caso fiorentino”, in L. Guidi e M.R. Pellizzari (a cura di), Nuove frontiere per la storia di genere, vol. III, Università di Salerno in co-edizione con libreriauniversitaria.it, Salerno, 2013, pp. 39-46. 40 G.M. Marchi, Colomba spirituale, op. cit. It concerns a spiritual direction manual certainly known to the Florentine mystic women: M. Zangari, La santa e il Giglio, op. cit., pp. 33-36. 41 Consult the definition coined by Chiara Vasciaveo, presented in: C. Vasciaveo, Introduzione, in S. M. M. de’ Pazzi, Quaranta giorni, testo critico, adattamento in italiano moderno e note a cura di Ead., Firenze, Pagnini, 2016 (2 a ed.), pp. 36ff. 42 Regarding the elements that significantly shaped female spiritual experiences, aside from Vasciaveo’s work, particular attention should be paid to: M. M. de’ Pazzi, Revelatione e Intelligentie, a cura di C. Vasciaveo, Firenze, Pagnini, 2016, see particularly Introduzione p. 70 and p. 78. Concerning the works about spiritual correspondence: Per lettera. La scrittura epistolare femminile tra archivio e tipografia, op. cit.; Maria degli Angeli, La santità in viaggio: lettere, libro delle rivelazioni, a cura di G. Jori, Firenze, Leo S. Olschki, 2012; Dilexit multum. Il carteggio tra don Leone Bartolini e un gruppo di gentildonne negli anni del Concilio di Trento (1545-1563), a cura di G. Zarri, con un’intervista autobiografica di A. Scattigno, Firenze, Nerbini, 2016; and again M. Zangari, La santa e il Giglio, op. cit., pp. 38-39 and pp. 197-202. 43 For the case of St Catherine de’ Ricci: A. Scattigno, Sposa di Cristo, op. cit. p. 112. More generally, for an overview on Florentine saintliness tradition: Ead., “I processi di canonizzazione a Firenze nella prima metà del XVII secolo”, in Memoria e comunità femminili. Spagna e Italia, secc. XV-XVII - Memoria y comunidades femininas. Le Rouge et le Noir: Biographies of Pious Women between France and Italy PFSCL LIII, 104 DOI 10.24053/ PFSCL-LIII-002 35 in the refectories and laboratories of monasteries 44 . Additionally, these biographies, often based on the oral testimonies of sisters, were edited and supplemented by official male biographers 45 . Generally speaking, these texts convey a sense of exemplarity and sanctity to the monastic community - the former through monastic virtues, the latter through mystical gifts 46 . Finally, it is worth noting that this process of memory sedimentation is typically a ‘choral’ operation - and, by extension, a shared experience. A case in point is the Florentine monastery of S. Maria degli Angeli, where, starting from the late sixteenth century, the sisters of St Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi organised themselves to transcribe the mystic’s ecstatic utterances: one group memorized her words, while another transcribed them 47 . It is in this spiritual context that the concept of “mystical science” (la science mystique) - developed by seventeenth-century theologians - takes shape. This is particularly true of the Carmelites, who endeavoured to formulate a mystical theology capable of both distinguishing the natural from the supernatural and discerning the gifts genuinely bestowed by God 48 . The French inclination appears to be oriented towards defining the concept of divine annihilation - as exemplified by figures such as Benoît de Canfield (†1610), François de Sales (†1622), Charles de Condren (†1641) and Jean-Joseph Surin (†1645) 49 . In addition, seventeenth-century mysticism includes related aspects such as angelology, to which the mystic women under consideration appear particularly attuned 50 - a theme also explored by several contem- España e Italia, siglos XV-XVII, a cura di - coordinado por G. Zarri-N. Baranda Leturio, Firenze University Press - UNED, 2011, pp. 131-151, here pp. 131-137. 44 Ead., Sposa di Cristo, op. cit., p. 112. 45 For Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi case, consult: C. Vasciaveo, “Le Vite storiche”, op. cit., pp. 295-296. For the case related to Catherine de’ Ricci: A. Scattigno, I processi di canonizzazione, op. cit., pp. 129-144. 46 Ead., Sposa di Cristo, op. cit., p. ix. 47 About the main bibliography related to Pazzi vide supra. 48 M. Vannini, Storia della mistica occidentale. Dall’Iliade a Simone Weil, Milano, Mondadori, 2005, p. 268ff. 49 M. Bergamo, La scienza dei santi. Studi sul misticismo secentesco, Firenze, Sansoni, 1984, pp. 4, 13, 18-19. For François de Sales: M. Vannini, Storia della mistica occidentale, op. cit., pp. 275-276, see also H. de Lubac, Mistica e mistero cristiano (Opera omnia - Sezione seconda: La fede cristiana, vol. VI), Milano, Jaca Book, 2018 (or. ed. Mystique et Mystère chrétien, Paris, Éditions du Cerf, 1975), pp. 99-100. 50 See, for instance, the case of the mystic Florentine woman Maria Triboli and her close association with her angel: M. Zangari, La santa e il Giglio, op. cit., pp. 137- 139. Mattia Zangari PFSCL LIII, 104 DOI 10.24053/ PFSCL-LIII-002 36 porary scholars, including Francesco Suarez (†1617), Bartolomeo da Salutio (†1617) and Francesco Albertini (†1619) 51 . 2. Le Rouge - A Mirror of Virtues for the Wife Leaving aside the broader cultural context and focusing on the specific aims of this study, the investigation initially focuses on the French biographies, whose protagonists, as previously noted, are lay religious women. Following earlier studies, such as those by historian Christian Renoux, it is worth noting that despite the substantial number of texts considered (fifty from the seventeenth century alone), not a single female figure was canonised. Indeed, the proliferation of portrayals of religious women was primarily driven by two key factors: the dissemination of St Ignatius of Loyola’s Vita (first published in 1555) and the canonisation of St Frances of Rome (1604) 52 . Furthermore, it is important to stress that, while this period includes numerous biographies of French mystics, it is above all laywomen who emerge as the principal subjects of spiritual biographies in this historical context 53 . Generally structured in three chronological parts, often marked by a disruptive event, the French texts - unlike their Italian counterparts - do not include miracles or extraordinary phenomena. This is partly because their purpose is not to support the canonisation of the pious women but rather to rescue the lives of laywomen from oblivion 54 , preserving and eternalising 51 For these theological issues, consult: M. Petrocchi, Storia della spiritualità italiana, Introduzione di P. Borzomati, Torino, Società Editrice Internazionale, 1996, pp. 171-173. 52 C. Renoux, “‘La lampe sous le muid mise au jour’ ou les biographies des femmes laïques en France au XVII e siècle”, in Alle origini della biografia femminile: dal modello alla storia, Actes du colloque organisé par le Dipartimento di Storia dell’Università degli Studi di Firenze, l’École française de Rome et le Comune di Firenze “Progetto donna”, Florence 11 et 12 juin 1999, a cura di C. Brice e G. Zarri, in Melanges de l’École française de Rome. Italie et Méditerranée, 113, 2001/ 1, pp. 273-85, here pp. 273-274. 53 Concerning the biographies of mystic women, it is noteworthy to mention, for instance, Margaret of the Blessed Sacrament’s Live: D. Amelote, La vie de sœur Marguerite du S. Sacrament, religieuse carmélite de Beaune (1619-1658), Paris, Pierre Le Petit, 1654. More in general, about this issue, see: J. Le Brun, Sœur et amante, op. cit. and again C. Renoux, “La lampe sous le muid”, op. cit. 54 For a general overview of these issues, consult: É. Suire, La sainteté française de la Réforme catholique (XV e- XVIII e siècle), Bordeaux, BUP, 2011; id., Sainteté et Lumières. Hagiographie, spiritualité et propaganda religieuse dans la France du XVIII e siècle, Paris, H. Champion, 2011. Le Rouge et le Noir: Biographies of Pious Women between France and Italy PFSCL LIII, 104 DOI 10.24053/ PFSCL-LIII-002 37 their virtues, as exemplified by the works of Pierre Bonnet, Victor Faydeau and Antoine de Saint-Martin de la Porte, who respectively portray the Marchioness of Oraison 55 , madame Pollaillon 56 and madame Beaufort Ferrand 57 . In line with these assumptions, the tales clearly show that lay virtues take centre stage, serving as a path to sanctification. Earthly marriage, for instance, is no longer viewed as a form of contamination 58 , but rather as a double of the mystic marriage typically associated with monastic settings, in which the nun is considered Christ’s bride par excellence 59 . For example, the text about Madame Beaufort Ferrand reads: Elle regarda désormais la condition du Mariage, où Dieu l’avoit appelée, comme un estat sainct qu’il est, et très honorable, et comme un signe honoraire et sacré de l’union de Iesus-Christ avec son Église, ne tenant plus rien d’abject et de grossier en tout ce que la grace et le motif de la charité relève, et mesurant l’action qui l’obligeoit à la dignité du sacrement, et à la sainteté de sa Religion 60 . 55 Pierre Bonnet, L’amour de la pauvreté descrite en la vie et en la mort de haute et puissante Dame Marthe, Marquize d’Oraison, Baronne d’Alemagne, Vicomtesse de Valernes, laquelle décéda en l’Hostel-Dieu de Paris au service des pauvres en l’année 1627, Paris, P. Rocolet, 1632. 56 Victor Faydeau, La lumière cachée sous le muid mise au jour... ou l’Esprit de defunte Dame Marie Lumague…veufe de Feu Messire François Pollaillon, Paris, J. Quesnel, 1659. 57 Antoine de Saint-Martin de la Porte, L’Idée de la véritable et solide dévotion en la vie de Madame de Beaufort Ferrand, Paris, J. Cottereau, 1650. 58 Ivi, p. 52. Among the studies interpreting marriage as contamination, the following are particularly relevant: Etica sessuale e matrimonio nel Cristianesimo delle origini, ed. by R. Cantalamessa, Milano, Vita e Pensiero, 1976; C. Tibiletti, “Verginità e matrimonio in antichi scrittori cristiani”, in Annali Facoltà Lettere e Filosofia di Macerata, II, 1969, pp. 10-27; A. Benvenuti Papi, “In castro poenitentiae”. Santità e società femminile nell’Italia medievale, Roma, Herder, 1990, p. 187 ff. (where the author takes into account an important Florentine hagiography, i.e. the Bl. Umiliana de’ Cerchi one). 59 On this topic, consult: K. Ritzer, Le mariage dans l’Église chrétienne du I e au XI e siècle, Paris, Éditions du Cerf, 1970; F. Chiavaro, “XI-XIII secolo. Il matrimonio cristiano in occidente”, in F. Bolgiani (a cura di), Storia vissuta del popolo cristiano, Torino, Società editrice internazionale, 1985, pp. 275-305; J. Trummer, “Symbolik der Ehe und ihre Bedeutung in der mittelalterlichen Kanonistik”, in W.M. Plöch e I. Gampl (Hrsg.), Im Dienste des Rechtes in Kirche und Staat. Festschrift zum 70. Geburststag von Univ.-Professor Prälat Dr. Theol. et Dr. Jur. Franz Arnold, Wien, Herder, 1963, pp. 271-288. 60 Saint-Martin de la Porte, L’Idée de la véritable, op. cit., p. 52. Mattia Zangari PFSCL LIII, 104 DOI 10.24053/ PFSCL-LIII-002 38 In addition, one of the most significant virtues is charity, manifested as love of neighbour, as exemplified in the case of Madame Dempierre. Not only did she care for captured soldiers during the Franco-Dutch War, but she also went to great lengths to assist a prostitute: “Elle emmaillotoit l’enfant, elle luy donnoit la bouillie et n’oublioit rien des moindres soins qu’une bonne nourrice peut prendre. Elle maria la mère et donna cent écus en marriage” 61 . As Marion de Lencquesaing has pointed out, both the presence of virtues in hagiographies and the study of them by biographers seem to multiply from now on; in particular, they classify such moral qualities by systematically examining them and, above all, illustrating them in the texts as proof of extraordinarily Christian lives 62 . Conditioned by the influence of the Spanish hagiographies, the French biographies of the modern age seem to ‘rebalance’, through the description of what Michel de Certeau called “discours de vertus” 63 , the textual dimension, previously unbalanced in favour of the miracles; yet, it should be highlight, the presence of such virtues should not be considered a novelty of the period, since the enumeration of moral qualities already permeated the late antique Vitae. In short, it can be said that while in the Middle Ages virtue played an edifying role in the life of the saint 64 , in the modern age the practice of virtue reaches an extraordinary, or rather ‘heroic’, degree 65 . Moreover, again taking up the Spanish texts, the French biographies seem to follow the layout, the structure of the interrogations of canonisation processes, namely: the existential path up to before the woman entered the religious Order, the theological and cardinal virtues, the description of death and, finally, the post mortem miracles 66 . Specifically, there is a phase in which writers organise biographies by putting the theological and cardinal virtues before the monastic and moral ones (i.e. humility and the spirit of penance), which in turn precede a series of devotional practices that constitute a 61 Guillaume Le Roy, L’idée d’une vierge chrestienne consacrée aux œuvres de charité, dans la vie de Mademoiselle Marie-Anne Du Val de Dampierre, Bruxelles, L. Marchant, 1684, p. 303. 62 M. de Lencquesaing, “Les vertus, noveaux miracles? ”, in Papers on French Seventeenth Century Literature, XLIX, 96, 2022, pp. 85-102, here p. 86. 63 Michel de Certeau, L’écriture de l’histoire, Paris, Gallimard, “folio histoire”, 2011 [1975 1 ], p. 237. 64 A. Vauchez, La sainteté en Occident au dernier siècle du Moyen Âge (1198-1431), Rome, École française de Rome, 2014 [1981 1 ], p. 43 and p. 583. 65 M. de Lencquesaing, “Les vertus, noveaux miracles? ”, op. cit., p. 88. 66 C. Renoux, “Discerner la sainteté de mystiques. Quelques exemples italiens de l’âge baroque”, in Rives nord-méditerranéennes”, III, 1999, on the web: https: / / journals.openedition.org/ rivesnm/ 154 Le Rouge et le Noir: Biographies of Pious Women between France and Italy PFSCL LIII, 104 DOI 10.24053/ PFSCL-LIII-002 39 counterbalance to heresies (according to a ‘Tridentine taste’) 67 . The space dedicated to the treatment of such qualities is characterised by a judicial rhetoric, consisting of a lexicon linked to the concept of trial, reference to eyewitnesses (often famous prelates), but above all a series of hyperbolic figures 68 , as is well evident from reading the biography that Alexandre Fichet dedicates to Jeanne de Chantal (†1641): Or toute la vie de la Mère dont nous faisons le portrait, a été une vertu, je dis toutes les vertus, et toutes les vertus ont été sa vie ; il semble que toutes les parties de vertus avaient composé toutes le parties de son âme : elle possédait la chacune en une si haute perfection qu’on eut juger qu’elle ne s’était exercée qu’en celle-là […] 69 . And it should be highlight that, in describing the flourishing of the virtues, biographers aim to transform the ordinary into the ‘extra-ordinary’; in other words, in the hagiographic perspective, scenes from everyday life now become extraordinary because it is the zeal with which the religious woman practices virtue that determines their extraordinary nature 70 . What we have just seen is most evident, for instance, in the biography of Marie de l’Incarnation, whose chastity André Du Val extols: Elle apportait don primièrement un très grand soin à contregarder ses sens, principalement la vue et l’ouïe, les détournant de toutes sortes d’objects déshonnêtes […], lorsqu’elle [était] dans le monde, elle ne regardait jamais un homme en face […] 71 . Continuing on the same theme, the combination of the active and contemplative life appears equally crucial, as it embodies the reconciliatory union of Martha and Mary’s opposing paths 72 , a theme commonly associated with further moral qualities, such as fortitude and humility. In particular, with regard to fortitude, it is worth noting that authors frequently compared the protagonists to prominent female figures from the Old Testament - Sarah, Hannah, Rebecca, Esther, Judith, etc. An illustrative example is Sault’s comparison between Madame de Neuvillars and these biblical women: 67 M. de Lencquesaing, “Les vertus, noveaux miracles? ”, op. cit., p. 93. 68 Ivi, pp. 94-96. 69 Les saintes reliques de l’Érothée, en la sainte vie de la Mère Jeanne-Françoise de Frémyot, Baronne de Chantal [...], de la main du R. Alexandre Fichet, théologien, de la Compagnie de Jésus, Paris, S. Huré, 1643, p. 497. 70 M. de Lencquesaing, “Les vertus, noveaux miracles? ”, op. cit., p. 97. 71 La Vie admirable de sœur Marie de l’Incarnation, religieuse converse [...]. Par André Du Val docteur en théologie [...], Paris, A. Taupinart, 1621, p. 615 72 N. du Sault, La vie de mademoiselle de Neuvillars. Miroir de perfection pour les femmes mariées et pour les âmes devotes, Paris, S. Cramoisy, 1649, pp. 2-3. Mattia Zangari PFSCL LIII, 104 DOI 10.24053/ PFSCL-LIII-002 40 Vous y verrez une femme forte [...] une Sara de notre siècle, à qui Dieu donne un fils lors qu’elle en avoit perdu toute espérance; une Rebecca qui trompe sainctement son mary, en lui substituant des Iacobs pour des Esaüs [...] une Esther qui a sauvé ceux de sa parenté par ses prières et par sa saincteté [...] une Judith qui a tranché la teste au monstre de l’hérésie [...] une Anne, mère de Samuel 73 . It is important to note that the profiles of these women are highly versatile, fluid and broadly ecumenical - characteristics that should not be automatically associated with the stereotype of the Catholic woman. In the case of Mademoiselle de Dampierre, for example, the biography was written by the Jansenist Abbot of Haute-Fontaine, Guillaume Le Roy. Despite his Protestantinclined perspective, he presents Mademoiselle de Dampierre’s charitable spirit as a quality deserving of praise. In the introduction to her biography, published in 1684, he writes: On voit (dans ce livre) une personne toute occupée des vertus chrétiennes, toute remplie d’un grand amour pour les veritez et les maximes de l’Évangile, toute pleine d’une fervente piété, et d’une ardente charité pour Dieu et pour le prochain. Et c’est ce qu’on doit principalement chercher dans la vie des Saints 74 . In short, these biographical texts present a new female typus that was both innovative and conservative. On the one hand, they introduced a novel model of female sanctity - that of the married pious woman; on the other, they reaffirmed earlier literary portrayals that closely resembled those of nuns. Essentially, the act of writing biographies of French pious figures was conceived as an attempt to provide a model of virtue, namely a mirror of virtues, to married women, which was unfortunately doomed to fail. One might attribute this lack of success to the fact that none of these women were ever canonised (with the exception of a few cases, e.g. Jeanne de Chantal and Marie de l’Incarnation), despite the clear intention behind the creation of this new literary model. For instance, the increasingly Quietist religious climate progressively undermined traditional models of sanctity 75 ; however, despite these setbacks, it is worth noting that the Italian biographers included in this research were familiar with these French works and likely benefited from 73 Ivi, pp. 2-3. More broadly on these themes, consult: C. Renoux, “La lampe sous le muid”, op. cit., pp. 283-284. 74 G. Le Roy, L’idée d’une vierge chrestienne, op. cit., f. 3v. Furthermore, in order to partially get an overview about the Jansenist hagiography: P. Thouvenin, “L’hagiohistoriographie à Port-Royal : littérature et nouveauté”, in Papers on French Seventeenth Century Literature, XLIX, 96, 2022, pp. 287-304. 75 Also in this case, consult C. Renoux, “La lampe sous le muid”, op. cit., pp. 284-285. Le Rouge et le Noir: Biographies of Pious Women between France and Italy PFSCL LIII, 104 DOI 10.24053/ PFSCL-LIII-002 41 them. Documentary evidence confirms seventeenth-century scholarly exchanges between French intellectuals - particularly the Maurists - and members of the Accademia della Crusca, which at the time was engaged in compiling hagiographies of several Florentine female saints, such as Bl. Umiliana dei Cerchi 76 . 3. Le Noir - Nuns between Literary Devices and Mystical Dimension Although they derive from a common textual tradition - namely the woman’s spiritual autobiography, often lost - the Italian biographies dedicated to nuns or semi-secular religious women are highly diverse 77 . Nevertheless, it may be argued that the Italian texts, on the whole, display greater sophistication for various reasons. First of all, beyond the intertwined relationship between biography and autobiography, there are also games of literary perspective. In the Life of the Augustinian nun Anna Caterina Guasconi (1647-1693), the learned biographer Giuseppe Maria Brocchi claims that his decision to compose the penportrait was sparked by the entirely fortuitous discovery of Guasconi’s actual likeness 78 . This suggests a distinctly literary typology described by Lina Bolzoni as the “ritratto doppio” (double portrait), in which one representation belongs to the visual arts and the other to writing. The concept echoes through evocative Renaissance literary traditions, including, among other refined examples, Baldassare Castiglione’s sonetti dello specchio (mirror sonnets) and the cryptic portrayal in Pietro Bembo’s Asolani, which features a written portrait of his beloved (Ginevra de’ Benci) 79 . Returning to the central argument, three elements distinctly set the Italian works apart from their French counterparts. First, the close relationship between text and paratext - often inseparable - is exemplified by the Life of the Florentine half-secular nun Leonora Ramirez de Montalvo (1602-1659) 80 . The first and most significant biographical text 76 M.P. Paoli, “Sante di famiglia: ‘notizie istoriche’ e agiografie femminili nella Firenze dei secoli XVII-XVIII”, in Memoria e comunità femminili, op. cit., pp. 187-209, pp. 187- 192, here p. 199. 77 Concerning the bibliography on commissioned autobiography vide supra. 78 Giuseppe Maria Brocchi, Vita della gran serva di Dio Anna Caterina Guasconi…, Firenze, Francesco Moücke, 1738, p. vi. 79 L. Bolzoni, Il cuore di cristallo. Ragionamenti d’amore, poesia e ritratto nel Rinascimento, Torino, Einaudi, 2010. 80 The bibliography on Leonora Ramirez Montalvo is extensive. Among other works, consult: J. Haraguchi, “Vita di Eleonora: A Unique Example of Autobiographical Writing in Counter Reformation Italy”, in I Tatti Studies in the Italian Renaissance, Mattia Zangari PFSCL LIII, 104 DOI 10.24053/ PFSCL-LIII-002 42 concerning Montalvo was written by one of her numerous confessors, Cosimo de Pazzi, who compiled the work - entitled Selva dei divini favori - between 1631 and 1638. This biography is closely interwoven with numerous poems, and in both the main text and the paratexts, Montalvo is lavishly praised. One particularly significant poem reads: Hospes Sisti gradum quisquis es Mulierem fortem si quaeris, invenies. Cuius fortitudinem vel ab ipso met nomine collige A leone desumptum est; sed a leone, cuius in ore exomen apum mellificavit Ut de forti dulcedo exiret Ab eiusdem cognomine fortitudinem partier edisce montis celsitudo in illo exprimitur quia fundamenta eius in montibus sanctis alvi quoque fit mentis; et illius enim intemerata custodia fuit semper, sicut acervus tritici vallatus lilijs ideo terreno posthabitu est Coelesti iuncta Sponso qui pascitur inter Lilia II.17, 2014, pp. 369-97; I. Gagliardi, Fede e scienza a Villa La Quiete: Eleonora Ramirez de Montalvo e l’istruzione delle giovani fiorentine nei secoli XVII-XIX, Livorno, Sillabe, 2014, pp. 155-160; J. Haraguchi, “Convent Alternatives for Rich and Poor Girls in Seventeenth-Century Florence: The Lay Conservatories of Eleonora Ramirez di Montalvo (1602-59)”, in A. Weber (ed.), Devot Laywomen in the Early Modern World, London and New York, Routledge, 2016, pp. 255-275; A. Scattigno, “Eleonora Ramirez Montalvo. Un impegno per l’educazione femminile nella Firenze del XVII secolo”, in C. Bianca - A. Sacttigno (a cura di), Scritture, carismi, istituzioni: percorsi di vita religiosa in età moderna. Studi per Gabriella Zarri, Roma, Edizioni di Storia e Letteratura, 2017, pp. 511-532; M. Zangari, “A Female Mystic and Educator in the Medici Grand Duchy: Hagiography of the Venerable Leonora Ramirez de Montalvo (1602-1659) from Medieval to Modern Topoi”, in Rivista di Storia e Letteratura Religiosa, 55, 2019/ 2020, pp. 229-65; Id. La santa e il Giglio, op. cit., pp. 59-144 and passim. For Montalvo’s poems critical edition: Ven. Leonora Ramirez de Montalvo, Gloria alla Santissima Trinità, Testo critico a cura di A. Pellegrini e delle Suore Montalve, Firenze, Pagnini, 2015-2019, 3 vol. Le Rouge et le Noir: Biographies of Pious Women between France and Italy PFSCL LIII, 104 DOI 10.24053/ PFSCL-LIII-002 43 nullas mundo, Coelo plurimas peperit filias Quietem amavit vivens Sed eam brevi perituram agnoscens In quiete semper fuit, in quiete donec Moriens. In regno beatitudinis, in quo pax summa est Neque frueretur aeterna. Leonem non oblita suum, cui licet dormiens, vigilare tamen semper apertis oculis cernitur. Fortis igitur ut Leo, fortis etiam resistere valuit (…). Leo rugiens Circuit querens, quid devoret 81 . An illustrative example is provided by picture 1. The texts state that Leonora Montalvo was as strong as a lion (with leo being Latin for lion - hence Leonora), and her portrait includes an actual lion, a symbol of fortitude. More broadly, the texts enumerate her virtues, including fortitude, purity, and 81 For the complete passage, consult: M. Zangari, La santa e il Giglio, op. cit., pp. 60- 63. In a traslation’s attempt: “Guest / please, stop your foot wherever you are / If you are looking for a strong woman, you’ll find / (her) whose fortitude, present in her name as well, / it’s derived from the lion; / but from a lion whose mounth honey leaking from a swarm of bees / so that the gentleness came from a strong human being. / From the surname of the same woman, similarly / you could learn / some fortitude. The height of the mountain is equally in it [ i.e. the surname] expressed / because his foundations are on the holy mountains. / We mention the womb as well; even in it, / brave shrine, / there was always been, a kind of wheat coming from valley’s lilies. / Thus, after crossing the earthly world, she joined her heavenly Groom, / whose shepherd among the lilies. / She didn’t generate any daughter for the earthly world, but she gave birth to many heavenly daughters / While living, she preferred the quietness / but, since she felt to die soon / she remained in peace. / In the blessed reign, where a supreme peace is present, she would benefit eternal peace. / She didn’t forget her lion / whose, despite sleeping, one could see watching over with open eyes anyhow. / Since she was strong as a lion, she was able to resist as well thus / […]. The snarling reigning lion / goes around looking for what it could devoar». Archivio di Stato di Firenze (=ASF), Ramirez Montalvo, fil. 6, ins. 7, elogium IX. For other poems, see ibid., Elogia. In the same manuscript it’s consultable a copy of the first Montalvo’s hagiography, written by the Jesuit father Cosimo de Pazzi: Memoriale di alcune cose spettanti alla signora Lionora Montalvi mia penitente, notati da me, Cosimo de’ Pazzi della Compagnia di Giesù, il quale la cominciai a confessare l’anno 1630, intorno alla metà del mese di novembre, quale memoriale ho cominciato a scrivere hoggi questo dì 25 di giugno del 1631 […]. Mattia Zangari PFSCL LIII, 104 DOI 10.24053/ PFSCL-LIII-002 44 perseverance. A closer look at the portrait reveals symbolic elements - a tower, lilies, an eagle, thorns, a stone, and cherubs - which respectively represent fortitude, purity, potency, Christ’s passion, perseverance, and the arts. Notably, these virtues form a veritable crown encircling Montalvo’s image. Setting aside the question of heraldic symbolism, attention must be paid to the commonplaces that pervade the portrayal of subjects in these Italian Lives, as they constitute the second significant difference. Indeed, one can reconstruct the rich and complex framework of topoi dear to the hagiographical tradition - the conceptual space in which the biographical subjects are brought to life. Some of these loci date back to late Antiquity (such as the puer senex, mulier virilis, or militia Christi); others originate in the Middle Ages (the exchange of hearts with Christ, mystical paroxysms, and the stigmata); and still others emerge during the early modern and Counter-Reformation periods (the cultivation of heroic virtues and the exaltation of obedience) 82 . Before offering a brief analysis of these commonplaces, it is worth noting that they appear primarily in the context of mystical visions - whether public, private, or somewhere in between. This is illustrated by the ecstasy experienced by the Poor Clare Maria Angiola Gini (1631-1644), whose mystical gifts made her the object of morbid fascination among the sisters. The situation escalated to the point that one nun locked her away in an attempt 82 This is a complex topic; nevertheless, I shall attempt to indicate some key bibliographical references. For an overview of the spread of the main topoi in the hagiography of European women Saints: E. Giannarelli, La tipologia femminile nella biografia e nell’autobiografia cristiana del IV secolo, Roma, Istituto Storico Italiano per il Medio Evo, 1980; R. Guarnieri, “Angela mistica europea”, in Angela da Foligno terziaria francescana, Atti del Convegno storico nel VII centenario dell’ingresso della beata Angela da Foligno nell’Ordine Francescano Secolare (1291-1991), Foligno (17-18 19 novembre 1991), a cura di E. Menestò, Spoleto, Centro italiano di studi sull’alto Medioevo, 1992, pp. 39-82. In order to scrutinize the hagiographic representation in the Modern Age, see: E.A. Matter, “Il matrimonio mistico”, in Donne e fede, op. cit., pp. 43-60; A. Scattigno, “Maria Maddalena de’ Pazzi tra esperienza e modello”, in G. Zarri (a cura di), Donna, disciplina, creanza cristiana dal XV al XVII secolo. Studi e testi a stampa, Roma, Edizioni di Storia e Letteratura, 1996, pp. 85-101; G. Zarri, “Nozze mistiche e nozze sacre tra medioevo ed età moderna”, in Ead., Recinti. Donne, clausura e matrimonio nella prima età moderna, Bologna, il Mulino, 2000, pp. 251- 388; M. Zangari, A Female Mystic, op. cit., Id. La santa e il Giglio, op. cit. It’s worth to take into account Maria Chiara Ferro’s work, concerning the women Saints belonging to Eastern Church: Santità e agiografia al femminile. Forme letterarie, tipologie e modelli nel mondo slavo orientale (X-XVII sec), Firenze, Firenze University Press, 2010. Le Rouge et le Noir: Biographies of Pious Women between France and Italy PFSCL LIII, 104 DOI 10.24053/ PFSCL-LIII-002 45 to quell the mounting curiosity. Nevertheless, the others devised a ruse: spying on Gini’s ecstatic visions through the keyhole 83 . One of the most evocative common places included in these Lives is the love relationship between Christ and the mystic woman, a cliché that dates back to the Song of Solomon textual tradition, in which the mystic relationship is articulated in different ways, e.g. Mystical Marriages, exchange of hearts, the act of resting in Christ’s side and so forth 84 . Unlike earlier female mystics, one of the most distinctive and recurrent aspects in the cases of the women analysed here is physical love. For instance, Montalvo is described as literally licking Christ’s body, covered in mud and blood. As anthropologist Fiorella Giacalone notes 85 concerning Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi’s experience, blood becomes the medium through which the woman engages with her Bride- 83 Beyond the Life written by the Piarist Alessandro Puliti (Vita della serva di Dio suor Maria Angiola Gini, monaca professa nel monastero di san Matteo in Arcetri, dedicata all’ illusstriss. Sig. Marchesa Maria Maddalena Venturi Niccolini, in Firenze MDCCXXXVIII, nella stamperia di Pietro Gaetano Viviani), additional material includes several biographies of Gini, extensive correspondence, and the documentation of her canonisation process. An initial overview can be found in M. Zangari, La santa e il Giglio, op. cit., pp. 195-218 and passim. On the anecdote concerning the nuns who reported others, see: A. Puliti, Vita, p. 58 and p. 79; AAF (=Archivo della Curia Arcivescovile di Firenze), S. Pier Gattolino, fil 135, letter 136. 84 Also in this case, the critical bibliography is extensive, among other works, consult: R. Guarnieri, Angela, mistica europea, op. cit., p. 62. Specifically, concerning the tradition coming from the Cantium Canticorum: Richardus de Sancto Victore, De quattuor gradibus violentae caritatis, sous la direction de G. Dumeige, Paris, J. Vrin, 1955; Origene, Il Cantico dei cantici, a cura di M. Simonetti, Fondazione Lorenzo Valla, Milano, Mondadori, 1998; C. Leonardi, “Il Dio nascosto del secolo XII”, in Medioevo latino. La cultura dell’Europa cristiana, Firenze, SISMEL Edizioni del Galluzzo, 2004, pp. 537-545; Il Cantico dei Cantici nel Medioevo, Atti del Convegno Internazionale di Gargnano sul Garda dell’Università degli Studi di Milano e della Società Internazionale per lo studio del Medioevo latino - SISMEL (22-24 maggio 2006), a cura di R.E. Guglielmetti, Firenze, SISMEL Edizioni del Galluzzo, 2008; C. Leonardi, “Bernarde Clairvaux entre mystique et cléricalisation”, in Id., Agiografie medievali, a cura di A. Degl’Innocenti - F. Santi, Firenze, Edizioni del Galluzzo, 2011, pp. 375-382. 85 “Vedde un giovedì mattina all’orazione Giesù tutto appassionato, gettato per terra [...]; il quale scorgendo Lionora, subito lo cominciò a baciare, e con la lingua a pulire dal fango, dalla polvere, e dal sangue di che pareva imbrattato, accarezzandolo al possibile [...]”. (One Thursday morning she saw Jesus at fervid prayer, stretched out on the ground [...]; when He saw Lionora, she immediately began to kiss Him, and clean the mud off His body with her tongue, as well as the dust and blood covering it, caressing it as well as she could [...]). Cosimo de Pazzi, Memoriale di alcune cose spettanti alla signora Lionora Montalvi [...], op. cit., f. 90v. Mattia Zangari PFSCL LIII, 104 DOI 10.24053/ PFSCL-LIII-002 46 groom - though His blood differs from hers: while Jesus’ blood is lustral and nourishing, Montalvo’s - as menstrual fluid - is impure, deadly, and nongenerative. In short, this scenario contrasts sharply with the French context, where biographers often emphasised the renewed value of earthly marriage, in counterpoint to the more restrained and conservative Italian paradigm 86 . Another interesting commonplace - once again rooted in the medieval tradition - is the figure of the puer senex or, in Greek, paidarioghéron. That is, the saint is already virtuous in childhood, depicted as an outsider who stands apart from other children (for example, by disliking play) 87 . This is a motif from the Greek literature, as in the example of the Homeric Hymns Hermes or Erythraean Sibyl, and it was incorporated by Christian tradition through reinterpretation of the Fathers of the Church, such as St. Jerome 88 . In the Christian perspective, childhood bore negative connotations: the child was thought to lack reason and to rely on instinct and sensory knowledge. From Late Antiquity onward, hagiographers thus portrayed their saints as ‘childold men’, as in the case of St Melania 89 . Due to reasons of space, the topic cannot be explored in depth here. Nevertheless, it is worth noting that several other traditional motifs recur in the structure of these texts - including parental conflicts, the mulier virilis 86 M. Zangari, La santa e il Giglio, op. cit., pp. 83-84. Regarding the anthropological implications: F. Giacalone, Impronte divine. Il corpo femminile tra maternità e santità, Roma, Carocci, 2012, pp. 146-147. 87 See, for example, the case of the Florentine semi-secular nun Maria Triboli (1583- 1659), whose hagiography was written by the priest Domenico Magni and was based in part on a previous autobiography: Archivio Suore Stabilite nella Carità (= ASSC), Cod. B4, Vita della Serva di Dio suor Maria Triboli, Fondatrice e priora del Venerabil Convento delle Stabilite nella Carità di Gesù buon Pastore della Città di Firenze, scritta parte da lei medesima per obbedienza del suo confessore e parte dal reverendo P. frate Angelo Nuzza di Grottola dell’Ordine dei Predicatori [...], cap. I, 2. Similarly, consult the case of the nun Diomira Allegri, to which we shall return later: ASSC, Manoscritti, G. A. Patrignani, Vita della Venerabile suor Maria Margherita Allegri del Verbo Incarnato, ff. 2, 3, 8. On the puer senex topos, consult: E. Giannarelli, La tipologia femminile, op. cit., pp. 25- 28; Ead., “Il puer senex nell’antichità: appunti per la riconsiderazione di un problema”, in O. Niccoli (ed.), Infanzie. Funzioni di un gruppo liminale dal mondo classico all’Età moderna, Firenze, Ponte alle Grazie, 1993, pp. 73-112; Ead., “Lo specchio e il ritratto. Scansioni dell’età, topoi e modelli femminili fra paganesimo e cristianesimo”, in Storia delle donne, 2, 2006, pp. 159-187, passim. 88 Beyond Cicero’s De divinatione (consult, e.g., the edition by S. Timpanaro, Milano, Garzanti, 1988, II, 50, p. 149), it is worth taking into consideration: A. Bouché- Leclercq, Histoire de la divination dans l’Antiquité, Paris, E. Leroux, 1879-1882, reprint Aalen, Scientia, 1978, pp. 167-168. 89 E. Giannarelli, Lo specchio e il ritratto, op. cit., p. 173. Le Rouge et le Noir: Biographies of Pious Women between France and Italy PFSCL LIII, 104 DOI 10.24053/ PFSCL-LIII-002 47 stereotype (a woman exhibiting masculine virtues such as fortitude and integrity), and, lastly, the well-known militia Christi topos, in which the woman is portrayed as a soldier of Christ. 90 As for new commonplaces that emerged during the modern and Counter- Reformation periods, the discussion should begin with the well-known Salamanca process 91 . As historian Anne Jacobson Schutte has pointed out, early modern mystic women were typically marked by a defining feature: the so-called heroic virtues - namely, the endurance of extreme suffering, the personal sharing in Christ’s pain, and a longing for the crown of martyrdom 92 - traits common to both Italian and French pious texts (as we have seen above). The concept of heroic virtues dates back to the early modern period and was first applied to female saints in the context of the Salamanca process (1602), initiated by theologians seeking to petition Pope Clement VIII for the canonisation of Teresa of Avila 93 . The consolidation of the cult of St Teresa of Avila led to the diffusion of the Teresian hagiographic model, exemplified by the renowned episode of the Transverberation. This motif also appears in the biographies of Florentine mystic women such as Montalvo and Gini, albeit with some variations. While in St Teresa’s case it is a cherub who pierces her with a dart, in Montalvo’s biography it is Christ Himself who wounds His bride: 90 Concerning the mulier virilis topos (in Greek gynè andréia), already present in Seneca (notably in the figure of Elvia, his mother), Varro (De lingua latina 5, 73), and Isidore of Seville (Etymologiarum libri, XI, 2, 18-19), consult the insightful analyses by U. Mattioli, Astheneia e andreia. Aspetti della femminilità nella letteratura classica, biblica e cristiana antica, Roma, Bulzoni, 1983; C. Mazzucco, “E fui fatta maschio”. La donna nel cristianesimo primitivo (secoli I-III), Firenze, Le Lettere, 1989; K. Aspergen, The Male Woman. A Feminine Ideal in the Early Church, Stockholm, Almqvist and Wicksell, 1990); and again E. Giannarelli, La tipologia femminile, op. cit., pp. 17-18; Ead., Lo specchio e il ritratto, op. cit., p. 164). The model of the mulier virilis was thus pivotal in Christian female biography, as seen, for instance, in the works of Gregory of Nyssa: De virginitate, ed. M. Aubineau, Paris, Éditions du Cerf, “Sources Chrétiennes, 119”, 1966; Vita Macrinae, ed. P. Maraval, Paris, Éditions du Cerf, “Sources Chrétiennes, 178”, 1971, see e.g. I, 26-28. 91 In the petition to Pope Clement VII for St. Teresa of Avila’s canonisation, the Salamanca Coterie of the Theologians introduced the concept of heroic virtue as Saint live foundation. R. De Maio, “L’ideale eroico nei processi di canonizzazione della Controriforma”, in Id., Riforma e miti nella Chiesa del Cinquecento, Napoli, Guida, 1992 (2 a ed.), pp. 253-274, here p. 253. 92 A. Jacobson Schutte, “‘Piccole donne’, ‘grandi eroine’. Santità femminile ‘simulata’ e ‘vera’ nell’Italia della prima età moderna”, in Donne e fede, cit., pp. 277-301, here p. 280. 93 De Maio, L’ideale eroico, op. cit. Mattia Zangari PFSCL LIII, 104 DOI 10.24053/ PFSCL-LIII-002 48 [...] [Leonora] mi disse ancora che il suo Sposo l’aveva date cinque ferite nel cuore e di queste, due gnene haveva date con la sua Sante Mano toccandola; due con li suoi divini occhi, et una con la sua Santissima bocca Santissimamente baciandola; permettendoli in oltre di volere con un dardo d’oro, che teneva nel proprio cuore darli un’altra ferita la quale per la sua grandezza haveria fatto, che queste cinque ferite fussero tutte una sola diventata, la qual ferita si grande e di cuore di Giesù li haveva ad essere data, era un amore trasformativo, che gli voleva dare, per il quale ella tutta fussi trasformata in lui [...] . 94 In Gini’s case, a mysterious and powerful hand (“gagliarda mano”) emerges from the altar’s ciborium to wound the nun with an arrow - although it is a seraph who imprints her stigmata: Stando ella nel martedì della settimana di Passione nel coro tutta penosamente intenta a contemplare i misteri della Passione del Signore, con acceso desiderio d’essere in qualche modo fatta partecipe de’ suoi dolori; e da un mistero in un altro, pervenuta a considerare quando colla lancia fu a lui trafitto il costato, non potendo ella più resistere alla vampa del divin fuoco, che non prorompesse in tenerissimi affetti di compatimento con brama più che mai veemente d’ essere anch’ essa ferita col suo Gesù, si sentì di subito un gran rumore, e simile ad un colpo terribile di lancia: e Maria Angiola si vide buttata miseramente in terra, colla tonaca squarciata nel petto, e colla camicia grondante tutta di sangue. Presente allo spettacolo si trovò una monaca, che era stata a lei assai contraria, e fino a quel punto incredula dell’altre; e vide ella chiaramente, come più volte esaminata costantemente affermò, che dal ciborio dell’altar maggiore si era spiccata come una lucidissima punta, ed acutissima di ferro, da gagliarda mano violentemente vibrata, che passando con tutta velocità per la grata del coro, avea ferito la Gina. Rimase in essa per prova la piaga miracolosa, che per molto tempo versò copia grande di sangue, nè si chiuse fino al giorno della gloriosa Ascensione di Nostro Signore al Cielo 95 . 94 Cosimo de Pazzi, Selva, f. 62v “[...] [Leonora] she told me again that her Spouse had given her five wounds in the heart, and that two of them had been given by touching her with His Holy Hand; two with His Divine Eyes, and one with His Most Holy Mouth, kissing her in the holiest of ways. With a golden arrow He held in her heart, he gave her another wound, which, owing to its size, made these five wounds become one, an extremely large wound. The Heart of Jesus He had given her was a transformative love, which He wanted to give her so that she would be entirely transformed into Him [...]”. 95 A. Puliti, Vita, op. cit., pp. 102-103. “[Maria Angiola] as she sat in Choir on the Good Tuesday wholly intent in praying the mysteries of the Lord’s Passion, with a fervent desire to somehow partake in His pain; and, as she moved between mysteries, she began to contemplate the moment when His side was pierced by the spear. Unable Le Rouge et le Noir: Biographies of Pious Women between France and Italy PFSCL LIII, 104 DOI 10.24053/ PFSCL-LIII-002 49 In Italy, the cult of Theresa of Avila had spread through the publication of her autobiography (Rome, 1559) and her famous Interior Castle (Florence, 1605) 96 . However, the fervent devotion to the Saint of Avila would soon overlap with that for Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi - the so-called Italian Saint of the Counter-Reformation, a designation coined by Gabriella Zarri 97 -, who was canonised relatively early by Pope Clement IX (1669) and profiled by the general confessor for the monastery, Vincenzo Puccini (1609) 98 . In the context of the Italian texts examined as a point of comparison with the French counterparts, Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi emerges as a true double of the mystic women under consideration, who emulate their illustrious compatriot and reflect themselves in her. The Mystical Marriage and the entire mechanism of mystical ecstasy closely resemble those recounted in Pazzi’s biography. In Montalvo’s visions from May 1632, for example, the two figures overlap: Montalvo and Pazzi blend into one another, with Montalvo becoming a reified image of Pazzi 99 . It is also worth highlighting that, in the case of the nun Diomira Allegri 100 (1651-1677), the similarities with Pazzi become even more pronounced, particularly when the texts describe mystic paroxysms. Seized by intense emotional and physical involvement - a trait typical of mystic Saints - Allegri spreads her arms, laughs, rejoices like an angel, and to withstand the blaze of the divine fire; with tender affection and without bursting into the tenderest compassion, she began to share that pain, desiring more than ever to be harmed the way her Jesus had. Suddenly, a great noise was heard, like a terrible spear: Maria Angiola found herself knocked miserably to the ground, her tunic ripped on the chest and her wimple dripping with blood. Present at the scene was a nun who had been previously very hostile and skeptical of her. As she affirmed several times during the interrogations, she clearly saw a kind of iron arrow, shiny and very high, rise from a strong hand in the altar’s ciborium; it travelled at full speed and harmed Gini. The miraculous wound remained on her as hard evidence, and it bled profusely and for a long while, not healing until the day of Our Lord Glorious Ascension into heaven” [My translation]. 96 G. Zarri, “Dalla profezia alla disciplina”, in Donne e fede, op. cit., pp. 177-225, here p. 220. 97 Ibid. 98 For the extensive bibliography concerning Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi vide supra. 99 See: Cosimo de Pazzi, Selva, f. 51r. For commentary on the comparison between Pazzi and Montalvo, consult: M. Zangari, A female Mystic and Educator, op. cit., pp. 258-263, here p. 163; Id., La santa e il Giglio, pp. 116-120, here p. 119. 100 Concerning the nun Diomira Allegri del Verbo Incarnato, see: Diomira del Verbo Incarnato (Margherita Allegri), Scritti e detti. Prefazione di D. Barsotti, Firenze, Libreria Editrice Fiorentina 1979; A. Malena, s.v. Diomira du Verbe Incarné, in Les femmes mystiques. Histoire et dictionnaire, sous la direction d’Audrey Fella, Paris, R. Laffont, 2013, pp. 633-635; M. Zangari, La santa e il Giglio, op. cit., pp. 145-194. Mattia Zangari PFSCL LIII, 104 DOI 10.24053/ PFSCL-LIII-002 50 rings the bells in full peal. A strikingly similar scene had already been described by Puccini in relation to Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi. This is illustrated by the following passage from her hagiography: [...] e con molto suo contento si spogliò di quella sottana che indosso teneva, senza guardare che cosa avesse in tasca; [...] diedegli in quel punto un’ fervore tanto grande, riempiendogli il cuore di nuovi ardori verso il suo Dio; giubilava, gioiva, ringraziava il Verbo [...] e [...] diede in un eccesso così grande che pareva fuori di se [...]. Stando in questi desiderij di Carità, gli si accese il cuore in modo che pareva che gli si abrugiassero le viscere [...]; tutta fuori di se correa, slargava le braccia, rideva, gioiva, ma con tanto bel’ modo che pareva un’Angiolo, era tanto bella nel volto [...]; corse più volte alla fune delle campane per chiamar tutti che amassero l’Amore; pareva che fosse portata per aria e, così veloce, diceva: Son troppo grandi questi incendij! Non posso soffrirli! Dalli, Amor’ mio Giesù, a chi ti sa amare meglio di me! (…) 101 . 101 Consult sister Reparata’s Scritti, in ASSC, Manoscritti, IX fasc. 36, § Dell’anno 1676, il 22 gennaio, nel giorno di mercoledì. “[...] and she [i.e. Diomira Allegri] contently removed the petticoat she was wearing, without looking at what she had in the pocket; [...] in that moment, a fervor so great overtook her, so intense that, once again, it filled her heart with love toward her God; she rejoiced, exulted and thanked the Incarnated Word [...] and [...] she was utterly overwhelmed, to the point that she seemed out of control [...]. In this yearning for Charity, her heart burned with love in such a manner that it seemed her entrails could burn too [...]; all out of her mind, she was running, she opened wide her arms, she laughed, she rejoiced, but so beautifully that she resembled an Angel, her face was so marvellous [...]; she ran several times toward the bells’ rope, as she convinced everyone to love the Love; she seemed to glide in the air and she, so swiftly, said: This love enkindles are too big! I can’t tolerate them! Jesus, my Love, please give them to those who could love better than me! [...]” [My translation]. Le Rouge et le Noir: Biographies of Pious Women between France and Italy PFSCL LIII, 104 DOI 10.24053/ PFSCL-LIII-002 51 The same passage should be compared with the following part of the text from the hagiography of Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi: Et dette queste parole si rizzò su in piede [...]. Et girando tre volte in circolo, si ripose poi a sedere [...] cominciò [...] a girare intorno intorno la sala del’Novitiato, volgendo il’viso in qua e là, guardando con grande stupore e ammiratione. Mostrava di veder gran cose, facendo certi be’ gesti, con modi molto maravigliosi. Et girato che hebbe tre volte essa sala, si prostrò in terra con tutta la persona; et stata così un poco, si rizzò su girando altre volte essa sala, et di nuovo fece un’altra prostratione [...]. Et fatte esse tre prostratione, di nuovo rizzandosi sù cominciò a rigirare essa sala a modo di ballo, e faceva certe belle reverentie e scambietti con i piedi, con una destrezza e con tanta bella gratia che non pareva creatura humana ma un Angelo disceso di cielo [...]. Andava girando a quel modo così un po’ per canto, e non in faccia [...]. Fece nel mezzo di sala una bella danza, per dire al’modo nostro quaggiù, però che non era danza ma un ballo di quelli di paradiso 102 . The final point of discussion concerns the issue of stigmatisation, which further differentiates the French and Italian textual traditions. Mentioning stigmata is not merely about identifying the mystical dimension in the hagiographies under examination. As I have demonstrated elsewhere through an analysis of the types of stigmata, both canonical and transgressive forms of stigmatisation are possible, as is the potential presence of heresy 103 . For example, Diomira Allegri’s stigmata may be compared to those of Maria Angiola Gini. In Allegri’s case, the stigmatization, which lasted 86 hours during Holy Week in 1676, left the characteristic Christic marks on her body: two on the hands, two on the feet, and one on the chest near the heart, between the sixth and seventh ribs - as confirmed by both physicians and 102 Maria Maddalena de’ Pazzi, Opere, op. cit., vol. III, pp. 232-233: “And having uttered these words, she rose from [...]. And turning three times in a circle, she then sat down again [...] began [...] to walk around the Novitiate room, turning her face this way or that, looking with great amazement and admiration. She showed she was seeing great things, making beautiful gestures, in marvelous ways. Having gone around the room three times, she prostrated herself on the ground with her entire body; and having stayed like this for a little while, she stood up, going around the room a few more times, and she prostrated again [...]. And having prostrated three times, she stood up again and began to go around the room like in a dance, and performed beautiful reveries and exchanges with her feet, with dexterity and such a beautiful grace that she did not resemble a human creature, but an Angel descended from heaven. [...]. She went around like that, a little in her voice, and not in her face [...]. She performed a beautiful dance in the middle of the room, one of those we perform down here, but that wasn't an earthly dance but one of those dances in paradise” [My translation]. 103 M. Zangari, La santa e il Giglio, op. cit., passim. Mattia Zangari PFSCL LIII, 104 DOI 10.24053/ PFSCL-LIII-002 52 several nuns during a post-mortem examination 104 . In this regard, sister Reparata de’ Montagnani - Allegri’s best friend - affirmed: “rimasta sola, li guardai le mani e viddi che la ferita passava da banda a banda e versavano sangue, le mani erano enfiate e intorno alla ferita livide ma fatto tanto bene e pari, non credo che un pennello l’avesse così ben dipinte” 105 . Coincidentally, some of the stigmata sketches outlined by the doctors were recovered (picture 2). However, the crucial element is the fact that Allegri’s stigmata were kept under a “veil of discretion”; in fact, they would disappear almost immediately after her death (the witnesses saw them just in time). Moreover, the episode did not involve an overt or spectacular event, unlike several pre- Counter-Reformation cases, such as that of Lucia Brocadelli da Narni 106 . In short, Allegri’s case of stigmatisation aligns closely with the standards of the Counter-Reformation: the stigmata were to be kept discreet, preferably invisible, as in the case of Montalvo. Gini’s case, by contrast, is entirely different: she was marked by a single chest wound that was open, bloody, exuding, and decaying - qualities that made it striking and subversive 107 . Concluding remarks In conclusion, these texts primarily offer accounts of spiritual experiences, first filtered through the direction of conscience and second through hagiography, which - from the authors’ perspective - assumes the form of a kind 104 In order to trace Allegri’s stigmatization, consult: Patrignani, Vita: ff. 432ff., 768- 769, 771, 784-786, 787, 797, 802-804, 808-819; Vatican City, Archivio Segreto Vaticano, Archivio Congregazione dei Riti (=ACR) 750, Processo ordinario “super fama” del 14 gennaio 1709-13, ff. 172r-220r; moreover, see: Processo Ordinario “super fama” del 18 luglio 1714, ACR 750, 2, ff. 807r-811v. 105 Attestazione di suor Reparata compagna della Serva di Dio, in Patrignani, Vita, ff. 768- 778, here ff. 768-769: “As soon as I remained alone with her, I looked at her hands and saw that the wound stretched from side to side, and her hands bled, swollen and bruised around the wound; however they were so graceful and perfect, not even a brush could paint them better” [My translation]. 106 In order to scrutinize Brocadelli’s issue related to stigmata, among other works, see: M. Folin, “Finte stigmate, monache, ossa di morti. Sul ‘buon uso della religione’ in alcune lettere di Ercole d’Este e Felino Sandei”, in Archivio italiano per la storia della pietà, XI, 1998, pp. 181-244; E. A. Matter - G. Zarri, Una mistica contestata. La Vita di Lucia da Narni (1476-1544) tra agiografia e autobiografia. Con l’edizione del testo, Roma, Edizioni di Storia e Letteratura, 2011 (particularly see pp. 152-154); T. Herzig, Le donne di Savonarola. Spiritualità e devozione nell’Italia del Rinascimento, prefazione di G. Zarri, Roma, Carocci, 2014, passim. 107 Beyond the passage from Puliti’s Vita previously considered (i.e. A. Puliti, Vita, pp. 102-103), see M. Zangari, La santa e il Giglio, op. cit., pp. 213-216. Le Rouge et le Noir: Biographies of Pious Women between France and Italy PFSCL LIII, 104 DOI 10.24053/ PFSCL-LIII-002 53 of autobiography (as previously noted). While intended to generate a virtuous chain of spiritual development in line with mystical principles, these biographies contribute to the sedimentation of monastic memory. In doing so, they are embedded within a broader network of spiritual formation, interacting with other elements such as confession and homiletics. Essentially, the representation of female sanctity varies according to cultural context. In France, the model centres on the lay, pious and married woman; in Italy, by contrast, the nun continues to serve as the archetype of female holiness. Furthermore, in the Italian model, mystical elements deeply permeate and shape the textual fabric, as illustrated by the example of stigmatisation. Finally, the Italian works exhibit a marked use of literary perspective shifts, proliferation of topoi, and, not least, fluid interplay between text and paratext. One might argue that, once again, the prevailing model aligns with the institutional instances provided by the Counter-Reform, which transformed the nun hagiographic prototype into a long-lasting model intended for longue durée.