Autobiography of an aspiring saint / Cecilia Ferrazzi ; transcribed, translated, and edited by Anne Jacobson Schutte.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Ferrazzi, Cecilia, 1609-1684.

Contributor:

Schutte, Anne Jacobson.

Series:

Other voice in early modern Europe.

Other voice in early modern Europe

Standardized Title:

Autobiografia di una santa mancata. English

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Ferrazzi, Cecilia, 1609-1684.

Ferrazzi, Cecilia.

Catholics--Italy--Venice--Biography.

Catholics.

Women--Italy--Venice--Biography.

Women.

Inquisition--Italy--Venice--History--17th century--Sources.

Inquisition.

Venice (Italy)--Biography.

Venice (Italy).

Physical Description:

1 online resource (135 pages)

Place of Publication:

Chicago : University of Chicago Press, c1996.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Charged by the Venetian Inquisition with the conscious and cynical feigning of holiness, Cecelia Ferrazzi (1609-1684) requested and obtained the unprecedented opportunity to defend herself through a presentation of her life story. Ferrazzi's unique inquisitorial autobiography and the transcripts of her preceding testimony, expertly transcribed and eloquently translated into English, allow us to enter an unfamiliar sector of the past and hear 'another voice'-that of a humble Venetian woman who had extraordinary experiences and exhibited exceptional courage. Born in 1609 into an artisan family, Cecilia Ferrazzi wanted to become a nun. When her parents' death in the plague of 1630 made it financially impossible for her to enter the convent, she refused to marry and as a single laywoman set out in pursuit of holiness. Eventually she improvised a vocation: running houses of refuge for "girls in danger," young women at risk of being lured into prostitution. Ferrazzi's frequent visions persuaded her, as well as some clerics and acquaintances among the Venetian elite, that she was on the right track. The socially valuable service she was providing enhanced this impresssion. Not everyone, however, was convinced that she was a genuine favorite of God. In 1664 she was denounced to the Inquisition. The Inquisition convicted Ferrazzi of the pretense of sanctity. Yet her autobiographical act permits us to see in vivid detail both the opportunities and the obstacles presented to seventeenth-century women.

Contents:

Front matter

Contents

Introduction to the Series

List of Abbreviations

Introduction

Note on the Translation

Testimony of Ferrazzi Preceding Her Autobiography

Autobioraphy of Cecilia Ferrazzi

Appendix 1 Persons Mentioned in the Text

Appendix 2 Places Mentioned in the Text

Glossary

Bibliography

Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 91-96) and index.

ISBN:

9786611125608

9781281125606

1281125601

9780226244488

0226244482

OCLC:

476227862