Suor Domenica da Paradiso

Ignazio del Nente (d. 1648).
Vita e costumi ed intelligenze spirituali della Venerabil Madre Suor Domenica dal Paradiso.
Florence: Francesco Mouck, 1743. (AFH9023)

Domenica Narducci (1473–1553) fled from an abusive life on a Tuscan farm for tranquility in the Dominican convent of Paradiso near Florence in 1499. There Suor (Sister) Domenica became known for her great piety and served as a spiritual advisor to the Medici family. An outspoken critic of her male counterparts who were followers of the controversial Dominican reformer Girolamo Savonarola (1452–1498), Suor Domenica championed her own reforms for female Dominicans. In 1515 she founded the Convent of Santa Crocetta in Florence. In later years she remained a major figure in Italian religious life, exchanging letters with Popes Clement VII and Paul III. During the centuries that followed her death, many pious Florentines believed that Suor Domenica's protection had saved them from the plague.   

This biography presents Suor Domenica da Paradiso as a model for monastic behavior in order to promote her case for saintly canonization. The book’s engraved frontispiece offers a lively (albeit imaginary) portrayal of this monastic founder and “venerable servant of God.”