cagnoli decided to become a hermit and tried finding the ideal place to begin his hermitage. he travelled south to rome and then naples but believed the great mass of people was too much. he continued further south (leaving naples on a ship to messina) where he settled in erice in trapani near mount san giuliano but later relocated around 1294 to the slopes at mount etna. he served his hermitage there on the slopes at mount etna and later ended this solitude to join the order of friars minor in 1307 at their radazzo convent in catania as a professed brother rather than as a priest. cagnoli would spend over three decades (the rest of his life) at the convent of san francesco in palermo. he also served as a cook at the convent of and was known for bringing about miracles and for his childlike and simple nature.