Bizantine craftsmen, first half 12th c.
Madonna Aghiosorítissa (of the Sacred Belt) or ‘of the Intercession’
detached mosaic (75×60 cm)
Palermo, Diocesan Museum, from the Chapel of Saint Mary Magdalene, then in the area of the royal and imperial tombs, of the Cathedral

The fragment of mosaic on gold background, which has come us in the outline given to it by the 1859 restoration works, comes from the area of the imperial and royal tombs of the Cathedral of Palermo, destroyed at the end of the eighteenth century.
Before being detached from the wall on which it was located, it probably originally belonged to the no longer existing rich decoration of the chapel of Saint Mary Magdalene, built in 1130 as the funeral chapel of Queen Elvira (or Albiria) of Castile, first wife of King Roger II of Hauteville (cat. 18).
In the mosaic you can see the Madonna “of the Sacred Belt” or “of the Intercession”, so called after the precious relic venerated in Constantinople in the church with the same name, and for the Virgin’s posture with inclined head and parallel hands turned towards her Son, invisible for us, to whom she addresses the prayers of the faithful.