Pier Pattinaio

Pier Pattinaio is mentioned in Purgatorio Canto 13 127 as the humble comb-seller whose prayers lessened the  haughty noble woman's Sapia penance. He was a tertiary of the Franciscan order revered for his humility, honesty and works. In 1328 the Nine (the priors of the Sienese senate) put up government funds for an annual feast in his honor. His body is entombed in the beautiful church of San Francesco (St. Francis) that Linda and I walked to this afternoon. The church can be seen in this photo just left of center. It is an enormous building built in 1228-1255 with the shape of an Egyptian cross.

Many fanciful stories about Pier/Pietro/Piero were scattered over the web. Here is a link to a book about the Italian communes 1125-1325 with some fun ones:Italian Religious Communes. My favorite confusion is whether he sold decorative combs (as implied in the book above) or combs for wool carding as cited by Durling and Martinez in our text.

Inside the church, all was still. Some of the same painters whose works I have come to love (the Laurenzeti brothers for example) were on the walls. Somehow the environment helped me get a grasp on the disciplined penance of the souls in Dante's purgatory.