gerardo cagnoli was born circa 1267 in valenza in the alessandria province and was believed to have been born to nobles. he cared for his widowed mother (his father died when he was ten) who was suffering from tuberculosis (since 1277 when she became widowed) and was at her bedside until she died in 1290 at the age of 40. his mother's death saw cagnoli on his own and so he decided to give all his possessions to the poor and begin life as a hermit.