Margaret was born of a poor family of Laviano in region Tuscany, Italy.
Her loving and pious mother died when she was seven,  two years later her father remarried, but his new wife hated Margaret and made her life very difficult.
She grew into a girl of unusual beauty, and at the age of 17 she went away with a young nobleman.  For nine years she lived with him in his castle near Montepulciano, and they had a son.
She wore rich clothing and fine jewels and yet, at the same time  she was also very generous with the poor who came to the castle gate, and would often help them as best as she could.

Frequently she besought her lover to marry her: he promised to do so, but he never did, as social convention would not approve a wedding between an aristocrat and a plebeian.
In 1273, he went out to visit one of his estates and met a tragic and mysterious end.
According to tradition, his faithful dog came back whining and tugging at Margaret's dress. She followed the dog into the forest and found her lover's disfigured body.
The truth about his death was never known.
Shaken and filled with terror, Margaret asked herself, "Where is his soul now?".

Determined to follow a new way of life, Margaret left Montepulciano with her son. She cut her hair short as a penitent, she knelt at the door of the church with a rope around her neck, and asked all the congregation to forgive the scandal she had given.
Her father would have received her and her son in his house, but his wife refused.
Margaret sat under a tree: she was homeless and didn't know where to go.

She looked up the ridge on which stood the castle of Montepulciano: she could return there, trading upon her beauty, but she prayed earnestly and succeded in rejecting this dangerous temptation.   

The Divine Grace inspired her to go to Cortona, where St.Francis had founded a convent called "Eremo delle Celle".

Margaret had heard of the Franciscan Friars' gentleness with sinners  and wanted to put herself under their spiritual direction.

She met two good ladies who noticed her loneliness, and offered to give her shelter and to look after her.  They introduced her to the friars, who welcomed her with kindness and Margaret made a general confession, weeping over her past. She found two noteworthy friars, Giovanni da Castiglione and Giunta Bevegnati, to counsel her.

Friar Giunta became her confessor and, after her death, her first biographer.
For three years she lived in a small hovel with her son and finally, when the Franciscans where convinced of her sincerity, she was given the habit of the Third Order.
Her son was sent to school at Arezzo and, few years later, he joined the Franciscans.

At first, Margaret supported herself and her son by looking after children and nursing the ladies of the city. Later, she devoted herself to prayer and the service of the poor, especially the sick.  She lived completely on the alms people gave her, and she shared half of what was offered to her with those who were more needy.
In 1286 the Bishop of Arezzo gave her a charter permitting her to set up her work on a permanent basis: Margaret formed a group with other tertiaries, a Congregation called Le Poverelle ("The Poor Ones") and opened a hospital.

Later, she founded the Confraternity of Our Lady of Mercy, for ladies willing to support the hospital and assist the sick and poor.
She spent most of the night in prayer and contemplation, sleeping few hours on the bare ground. She was always dressed in rags and ate only a little bread with raw vegetables.
Margaret's penances were so severe that often her confessor had to advise her to be more restrained. Hating her own beauty, she attempted to disfigure her face with a razor, but Friar Giunta prevented her from doing it.

As she grew in closeness to God, she was filled with many divine ecstacies and gifts. She gave counsel to penitents who began to seek her as her fame for sanctity spread. Many sinners were converted by her words, many sick were restored to health, a dead boy was brought to life, and many possessed were freed by her prayers and returned to spiritual wholeness.

In 1288 Margaret moved to the ruined church of St. Basil above the city. Here she spent  her last years and died at the age of fifty, on 22nd February 1297.  

After her death the church was rebuilt in more magnificent style and dedicated in her own name. Her body is still incorrupt in a silver shrine over the high altar of this Sactuary.

There is also the Crucifix that asked her: "What do you want, Poverella? (Poor One)",  And Margaret answered:"Only You, My Lord !"
Miracles took place immediately after her death and she was acclaimed as a saint, but she was not officially canonized until 1728 by Pope Benedict XIII.  Her Feast-day is on 22nd February.