Umiliana DEI CERCHI (1219-1246)

She was a noble Florentine who had been married off to enhance her faimily’s fortunes. once widowed, she gave her children to her husband’s family, joined a group of local pinzochere (beguines), and served the poor. Seeking ever greater solitude, Umiliana moved into a tower owened by her familiy to live as a recluse, and became a spiritual beacon (Laura Swam, The winsdom of beguines, p.40).