The nun of Monza (representation)
The sordid affair fra Sister Virginia , a nun in the convent of Santa Margherita in Monza, and Gian Paolo Osio , had been going on for some time now.
Many knew, but no one dared to speak out for fear of a general scandal that would uncover everything that was illegal was perpetuated within those sacred walls and for fear of retaliation, given the high family rank to which the woman belonged.
The amorous encounters between the two lovers took place without too many embarrassments in her cell, often in the presence of her companions Benedetta Homati and Ottavia Ricci , in whose beds even the indefatigable Osio did not disdain to enter from time to time, with Virginia complacent and spectator.
A ménage bleak to say the least, especially when you think about the status of the ladies involved and the place where it all took place.
Yet even those who, for personal reasons and grudges, would have wanted to report everything, continued to be silent.
Not Caterina Cassini from Meda however, a rebellious girl who entered the convent reluctantly at the age of fourteen, who did not adapt well to the life of the cloister, of which she did not accept rules and restrictions.
Her constant intemperance alienated the young woman from the sympathy of many other nuns, but Catherine's most tenacious friction showed that she had it towards Sister Virginia.
The reasons for so much discord are not clear, but perhaps it had arisen between the two issues of jealousy, probably referable to Gian Paolo himself.
Was there perhaps a story between the conversa and the Osio, maybe he had also deluded her and then pulled back, the nun had known it, was angry and, as was his habit, had started tyrannizing Catherine?
Or Catherine, who fell in love with the man, but rejected by him, had ended up hating Sister Virginia for her, rose with jealousy?
The nun of Monza and her accomplices. Together with Gian Paolo Osio, they were all responsible for the killing of Caterina da Meda
These are only hypotheses, but entirely plausible, because the girl's hostility began to mount until she began to threaten to tell the authorities everything, including the not insignificant detail of the two pregnancies of the lady, a decision that, if put into practice, would have had disastrous and not easily delineated consequences for the protagonists of the shameful handling.
As much as he tried to appease her, even with flattery and gifts, it seems that nothing made Catherine withdraw from her purpose, and it was for this reason that he decided to kill her.
The statements made by the defendants during the trial they do not perfectly clarify whether it was a totally shared decision, if the order started from De Leyva or if instead all of them ended up agreeing to a will of Hosius alone, the fact is that all participated in the horrible crime and were therefore equally guilty.
The fate of Caterina was now sealed.
The crime took place on the hot night of 23 July 1606.
While he had already been for a few days, and precisely at the behest of her "enemies", in the punishment cell, the lay sister, lying on an uncomfortable pallet, received a visit from Virginia, Benedetta and Ottavia.
After, it seems, an extreme attempt to tame her, which was followed by the usual threat to blurt out everything to the right person, Osio burst into the room and with a blunt instrument hit the young woman at least two or three times on the head, who died on the shot.
The havoc was not over yet.
After temporarily hiding the body in the hen house, it ended up at Osio's house, where it came from him dismembered and hidden somewhere nearby, except the head, which instead was thrown into a well.
About a year and a half later, however, this same head, still blond and partly recognizable despite the stay in the water, the heat and the time that has passed, will re-emerge thanks to the work of some local farmers, nailing its captors to their responsibilities. / P>