{"id":39733,"date":"2022-10-16T17:01:29","date_gmt":"2022-10-16T15:01:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/visitpiacenza.it\/arte-e-cultura\/santa-franca-of-vitalta\/"},"modified":"2025-07-17T15:46:16","modified_gmt":"2025-07-17T13:46:16","slug":"santa-franca-of-vitalta","status":"publish","type":"arte-e-cultura","link":"https:\/\/visitpiacenza.it\/en\/art-and-culture\/santa-franca-of-vitalta\/","title":{"rendered":"Santa Franca of Vitalta"},"content":{"rendered":"

Franca of Vitalta, who became a saint, was born in 1175 in Vitalta (Vernasca<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Her life<\/h3>\n

Franca, the daughter of the count and the countness of Vitalta, was born in a castle at 550 meters above sea level. When she was really young, she entered the city Benedectine monastery of Saint Siro, where she took her vows. In 1198, when the abbess Brizia died, Franca was elected to fill her place. In 1214 she followed the example of Carenzia Visconti, the founder of a female cistercian monastery on Montelana, and she became the abbess of that monastery, keeping for a while the management of Saint Siro too.<\/p>\n

After two years inside the cloister of Montelana, it was necessary to move because of all the dangers for the young nuns, living here isolated, often facing robbery.<\/p>\n

The nuns moved before to the cloister of Vallera and then to Pittolo, that Franca managed until her death, on the 25th April 1218. Originally her body was buried in that place and after many translations, nowadays it is placed in the church of Saint Raimondo<\/a> in Piacenza.<\/p>\n

Franca from Vitalta becomes a Saint<\/h3>\n

It seems she was proclaimed saint only verbally by Papa Gregorio X, in September 1273, and there isn’t any papal bolls to witnesses her title.<\/p>\n

The dead body of Franca became immediately important and venerated because of the miracles she made to the nuns and other people. Even after her death she made other miracles, so many that the cloister of Saint Siro and Pittolo became destinations for pilgrimage and places of worship. The miraculous events concerned healing of blind people.<\/p>\n

In 1949 a nun instantly healed from the the pain of her eye, while she was praying and touching the simulacrum which contained the relics of the saint.<\/p>\n

The sanctuary<\/h3>\n

In 1824 during the last Sunday of August, the day in which Franca was celebrated, a new sanctuary was opened near the older, in the place where Franca lived for many years.<\/p>\n

The chapel preserves the wooden sculpture of the saint with the cistercian cloth. Not so far from it, there is a water source. According to the tradition, the water sprang out by the will of Franca and so it has healing property.<\/p>\n

Patron Saint<\/h3>\n

Franca is the Saint Patron of the upper Arda valley<\/a> and she is celebrated on the mountain which was titled with her name (before called Montelana).<\/p>\n

The sanctuary is surrounded by charming old beech trees; on the first and the last Sunday of August there’s an important celebration with pilgrimages and religious ceremonies. This is an important event with a big attendance of pilgrims.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Franca from Vitalta, who later became saint, was born in 1175 in Vitalta (Vernasca). Franca, the daughter of the count and the countness of Vitalta, was born inside of a perched castle at 550 meters above sea level. When she was still really young, she entered the Benedectine monastery of Siro Saint, where she took her vows. In 1198, when the abbess Brizia died, Franca was elected to fill her place. To achieving a better perfection, in 1214 she followed the example of Carenzia Visconti, the founder of a female cistercian monastery. Franca became the abbess, keeping for a while the management of Saint Siro too. After two years of living inside of the cloister of Montelana, it was decided the moving of the young nuns. The decision was taken after considering all the dangers they could have there: being isolated, often facing robbery and all the difficulties for the supplies. The nuns moved to the cloister of Vallera before and to Pittolo after, until the Franca death, happened on the 25th April 1218. In the same place the body of Franca was buried and after many translations, nowadays is placed inside of the church of the Benedectine cloister of Raimondo Saint in Piacenza. Apparently she was proclaimed saint only verbally by Papa Gregorio X, in September 1273, but any papal bolls was conserved. The dead body of Franca Saint became immediately important and venerated because of her many miracles. When she was still alive, she made many miracles to her nuns and the lay people. Even after her death she made other miracles, so much that the cloister of Siro saint and Pittolo became pilgrimage destinations and places of faithful. The miraculous events concerned healing of blind people. In 1949 a nun instantly healed from the the pain of her eye, while she was praying and touching the simulacrum which contained the relic of the saint. During the last Sunday of August in 1824, the celebration day which reminds the presence of Franca on the mountain, it was opened a new sanctuary built near the older; where, according to the tradition, Franca was living for many years and where some ruins where found later. The chapel treasures the wood sculpture of the saint with the cistercian cloth. Not so far from it, there is a water source, which sprang out by the will of Franca and which gave her healing property. Franca saint is the patron of the upper Arda valley and since many centuries she is celebrated on the mountain which was titled with her name ( before called Montelana) on the beautiful plain at 1300 meters above the sea level. The sanctuary is surrounded by charming old beech trees; on the first and the last Sunday of August an important celebration is happening with pilgrimages and religious ceremonies. This is an important event with a big attendance of pilgrims.","protected":false},"featured_media":17803,"template":"","territorio":[935],"categorie_arte_e_cultura":[928],"class_list":["post-39733","arte-e-cultura","type-arte-e-cultura","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","territorio-val-darda-en","categorie_arte_e_cultura-curiosities"],"acf":{"contatti_iat":false,"location":{"lat":"44.7227486","lng":"9.7028607","address":"morfasso"},"accessibilita_disabili":"","orario":"","chiusura_settimanale":"","tariffe":"","iat":33740,"localita":33136},"yoast_head":"\nSanta Franca of Vitalta - Visit Piacenza<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Franca Saint was born in 1175 in Vitalta(Vernasca). She came from a noble family, she took her vows and entered in the cloister. 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