Margaret of Cortona — 700 Years in a Crystal Reliquary

A Life of Dramatic Conversion

Margaret of Cortona was born around 1247 in Laviano, Tuscany. After nine years as the mistress of a nobleman who was murdered, she underwent a conversion, joined the Third Order of Franciscans, and spent the rest of her life in intense penance, charity, and prayer in Cortona. She died on February 22, 1297, and was canonized by Pope Benedict XIII in 1728 — 431 years after her death, reflecting the long verification process required.

The Cortona Display

Margaret's body has been kept at the Basilica of Santa Margherita in Cortona in a crystal reliquary for over 700 years. Unlike most relics that spent centuries sealed in closed tombs, her custodial history in Cortona has been relatively continuous, which adds some credibility to the preservation narrative — the body hasn't been lost, refound, and potentially substituted.

Natural Explanations

Cortona sits at 600 meters elevation in Tuscany, with a dry climate historically favorable to preservation. The stone basilica provides thermal stability and low humidity. The crystal reliquary, while allowing viewing, may also create a microenvironment that retards further decay. The University of Pisa's examination of Zita of Lucca — in a similar Tuscan stone-church environment — confirmed natural desiccation mummification as the preservation mechanism.

The Evidence Gap

No equivalent examination of Margaret's remains has been published. She is a legitimate candidate for scientific investigation: the long custodial history and stable environment make her more tractable than some others. Without that analysis, she sits in the same evidential position as most medieval incorruptibles — genuinely preserved longer than expected, but without the forensic data needed to evaluate the mechanism.