Basilica of San Frediano and St Zita

The Basilica of San Frediano is one of the oldest churches in Lucca, founded in the 6th century and rebuilt in the 12th century with a magnificent Byzantine mosaic on the façade — unusual in Tuscany and striking in contrast to the Pisan-Romanesque style of the city's other major churches. The interior has Romanesque columns, a remarkable Romanesque font from the 12th century, and several early frescoes.

In the right transept lies the mummified body of Saint Zita, displayed in a glass case as it has been since her death in 1272. Zita, a domestic servant who became venerated for her kindness to the poor, is one of Lucca's patron saints, and her naturally preserved remains have been an object of pilgrimage for over 700 years.

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A story
Zita was a domestic servant who worked for a Lucchese merchant family for 48 years and became known for her charity to the poor. She died in 1272. Her body, displayed in the basilica, is naturally mummified — the preservation happened without embalming, a fact attributed to miraculous intervention throughout the medieval period. She became the patron saint of domestic servants and maids throughout the Catholic world.

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