Family and Descendants
Itta married Pepin of Landen, Mayor of the Palace of the Merovingian kings. Her siblings included Modoald, Bishop of Trier, and Severa, an abbess.
Her children were Grimoald the Elder (616–657), later Mayor of the Palace; Saint Gertrude of Nivelles (c. 628–659); Begga (613–693), Abbess of Andenne, who married Ansegisel; Bavo, also called Allowin, who became a hermit and was venerated as a saint; and Modesta (died c. 660), who entered religious life.
Through her daughter Begga, Itta became the grandmother of Pepin of Herstal and an ancestor of Charlemagne, making her a matriarch of the family from which the Carolingian dynasty arose.
Foundation of Nivelles
Around 647, following her husband's death, Itta founded the Abbey of Nivelles at the urging of Bishop Amandus of Maastricht, who supported the establishment of the monastic community.
Originally a house of nuns, Nivelles became a double monastery after Irish monks from Mont Saint-Quentin Abbey, sent by Abbot Foillan, arrived to assist its operations. Under their influence the community adopted the severe asceticism characteristic of Irish monasticism, with separate sections for monks and nuns under unified leadership.
By tradition Itta appointed her daughter Gertrude as abbess. Upon Itta's death, Gertrude assumed sole responsibility for governing both the spiritual and administrative affairs of the monastery.
Relics and Shrines
Itta is honored as the patron saint of Itteville in France, a place founded on a farm she had established.
Her principal shrine is associated with the Collegiate Church of Saint Gertrude in Nivelles, Belgium, where her daughter is also venerated.
