The patron saint of San Gimignano, Fina, will be celebrated in the Basilica of Santa Maria Assunta on March 12th. With the religious ceremony, involving the participation of the Municipal authorities, there will also be a fair. Fina has been venerated in San Gimignano ever since her death, way back in 1253, on March 12th.

Traditional fair will be held in Piazza del Duomo and Piazza della Cisterna. Fina, the pious daughter of poor parents, died in 1253 on the feast day of Saint Gregory after a long and painful illness. According to legend, after the death of her mother Fina lived an ascetic lifestyle so strict she was, in the end, scarcely able to move. At the instant she died, white, beautifully scented flowers blossomed forth from her bed of pain.

Between 1468 and 1472, architect Giuliano da Maiano built Saint Fina's mortuary chapel in the collegiate church and Ghirlandaio covered the walls with frescoes. Both artists were working in direct competition with each other, for they were depicting the Obsequies of Saint Fina side by side, each using his own medium, fresco and relief carving.

In the frescoes for this chapel Ghirlandaio was able to develop his own style. The two frescoes in the Saint Fina Chapel are the first major works of Ghirlandaio's career.