Who is Nuns at Santa Vitella's Convent from The Birth of Venus: A Novel and what is their importance? The_Birth_of_Venus_(novel) English & Literature Nuns at Santa Vitella's Convent | The Birth of Venus: A Novel

The nuns at Santa Vitella's Convent in 1528 find themselves in a difficult position when Sister Lucrezia dies. Sister Lucrezia specifically asks the Mother Superior not to undress her body upon her death as is the custom. However, there is a plague outbreak in a nearby village that necessitates that the nuns burn Sister Lucrezia's clothing and cleanse the body in case she was the source of the outbreak. When they do this, the nun's discover that not only did Sister Lucrezia die of the tumor they believed she had, but that she had a large tattoo of a snake on her body.