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La nascita di Rosalia
THE BIRTH OFROSALIA
ca. 1128
Rosalia was born in Palermo around 1128, daughter of nobles, descendants of Charlemagne and the Counts Marsi. The father, Count Sinibaldo, of the noble Tuscan Sinibaldi family, had married the noblewoman Maria Guiscardi, descendant of Roberto il Guiscardo, brother of Ruggero I d'Altavilla, thus coming to be related to the Norman kings: King Roger II and his successor, William I, “Il Malo”.
La giovinezza alla corte normanna
YOUTH IN THE NORMAN COURT
Rosalia, whose name derives from the union of "rose and lilium" (in Latin, "rose and lily"), lived in comfort at the paternal residence near the Olivella district in Palermo (where today the Oratory stands di S.Caterina d'Alessandria) and at the court of King Roger II.
The king, cousin of Rosalia's mother, gave his family a large estate in Quisquina and Monte delle Rose in the Realtavilla district (AG).
According to Father Costantino Caetani in 1619, Rosalia was maid of honor of Queen Margherita, daughter of the king of Navarre and wife of William I, the Malo (1120/1166) ._ cc781905-5cde-3194-bb3b-136bad5cf58d_
Rosalia, promessa sposa
ROSALIA, PROMISE BRIDE
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It is said that, at the age of 13/15, her father, out of obedience to the sovereign, asked her to marry Count Baldovino as a reward for saving King Roger II's life from the assault of a ferocious beast (a " lion ”, according to tradition), during a hunting trip. When asked by the king what gift he wanted to receive as a reward for his great courage, Count Baldovino is said to have replied: "Rosalia's hand".
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L'ingresso in monastero
ENTRANCE TO THE MONASTERY
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Rosalia, determined to embrace the religious life, refused the wedding and left the paternal house and the comforts of her life in the Palace, taking refuge at the Basilian Monastery of SS. Salvatore di Palermo (of which the Oratory remains today) to devote himself to a life of prayer. An ancient altarpiece of the thirteenth century, which depicts her in a monastic habit, suggests that she was consecrated to the rule of St. Basil the Great, based on manual work, which strengthens the body, prayer, which refreshes the spirit, and study of Holy Scripture, which enlightens the mind.
L'inizio dell'eremitaggio
THE BEGINNING OF THE HERMITAGE
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It seems that, due to the constant visits of his family and of Count Baldovino who had not resigned himself to the loss of his future bride, Rosalia, wrote a letter in Greek, which he delivered to the nuns with a wooden cross, left the monastery to begin the his new life as a hermit. At first a guest of the Church of Santa Maria in Palazzo Adriano (PA), he then took refuge in a nearby wood where a mountain pass is still called by his name and, subsequently, in a wood in the territory of the current town of Santo Stefano Quisquina, where he lived as a hermit - unusual for a woman of that time - inside a small cave.
Vita da eremita alla Quisquina
LIFE OF HERMIT TO QUISQUINA
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Rosalia lived as a hermit for 12 years in a small karst cavity now incorporated in the hermitage dedicated to her in the Quisquina wood, beyond Bivona, halfway up a cliff of about 900 m. overlooking the necropolis of Realtavilla (AG). To confirm this tradition there is an inscription, found on 24 August 1624, on the right wall of the entrance to the small cave: "EGO ROSALIA SINIBALDI QUISQUINE ET ROSARUM DOMINI FILIA AMORE D / NI MEI JESU CRISTI IN HOC ANTRO HABITARI DECREVI". In the lower part of the writing, on the left, there is also the number "12" which would indicate the years in which Rosalia lived in that place.
Il ritorno a Palermo da eremita
THE RETURN TO PALERMO FROM EREMITA
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After leaving the Quisquina cave, Rosalia returns to Palermo and pauses for a short time in her father's house, in the Olivella district. Later he takes refuge on Montepellegrino, since time immemorial considered a sacred mountain, in a cave full of water, next to an ancient altar, first pagan and then dedicated to the Madonna. Here Rosalia lived in a hermitage for about 8 years, until her death .
Morte di Rosalia sul Montepellegrino
DEATH OF ROSALIA ON MONTEPELLEGRINO
1140 or 1150
Rosalia died on 4 September 1140 or 1150, inside the cave on Monte Pellegrino. His liturgical memory is celebrated on this date.
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