Blessed Osanna Andreasi's House

Osanna Andreasi was born in Carbonarola, in the district of Carbonara di Po, in 1449. Her destiny, however, led her to the Gonzaga court where, during her life, Ludovico, then Federico and finally Federico II, married to Isabelle d’Este, reigned. Osanna lived in her home in Mantua with her brothers and sisters, her parents and other relatives. Already at the age of fifteen she joined the Terziarie Secolari  of the Dominican Order. It is not clear why she formed a lasting and strong relationship with the Mantuan marquises, although according to some unverified information her mother was related to the Gonzaga. Although there is almost no record of significant events in her life, it is possible to say that the future Blessed managed her house with a spiritual authority that was evidently innate, though maintaining the simplicity and openness of a woman from a low social class. Some claim she was illiterate; however, about one hundred insighful letters of hers have survived, and a composition titled “‘Libello della vita sua propria e de’ doni spirituali da Dio a lei collate” (The story of her life and of the spiritual gifts conferred on her by God).