In 1870, at the age of four, she and her family moved to the nearby village of Marola, also in the Province of Vicenza, where she lived for the rest of her life. She was able to attend school for only two years, between 1872 and 1874, because she needed to help her parents with farm work and domestic chores. However, she was still able to learn enough to read several religious texts in her youth, most notably the Bible, the Catechism, Roman Catholic Church history, the "Philothea" of Francis de Sales, and the "Eternal Maxims" of Alphonsus Liguori.