Accademia - Assumption of the Virgin by Palma il Vecchio

Fra Filippo Lippi - Madonna della Cintola - WGA13248

The Girdle of Thomas, Virgin's Girdle, Holy Belt, or Sacra Cintola in modern Italian, is a Christian

relic In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tangi ...

in the form of a "girdle" or knotted textile cord used as a

belt Belt may refer to: Apparel * Belt (clothing), a leather or fabric band worn around the waist * Championship belt, a type of trophy used primarily in combat sports * Colored belts, such as a black belt or red belt, worn by martial arts practition ...

, that according to a medieval

legend A legend is a Folklore genre, genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived, both by teller and listeners, to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human valu ...

was dropped by the

Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...

from the sky to Saint

Thomas the Apostle Thomas the Apostle ( arc, 𐡀𐡌𐡅𐡕𐡌, hbo, תוֹמא הקדוש or תוֹמָא שליחא (''Toma HaKadosh'' "Thomas the Holy" or ''Toma Shlikha'' "Thomas the Messenger/Apostle" in Hebrew-Aramaic), syc, ܬܐܘܡܐ, , meaning "twi ...

at or around the time of the

Assumption of Mary The Assumption of Mary is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church. Pope Pius XII defined it in 1950 in his apostolic constitution ''Munificentissimus Deus'' as follows: We proclaim and define it to be a dogma revealed by Go ...

to heaven. The supposed original girdle is a relic belonging to

Prato Cathedral Prato Cathedral, or Cathedral of Saint Stephen, ( it, Duomo di Prato; Cattedrale di San Stefano) is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Prato, Tuscany, Central Italy, from 1954 the seat of the Bishop of Prato, having been previously, from 1653, a cathe ...

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; it, Toscana ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of about 3.8 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence (''Firenze''). Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, art ...

, Italy and its veneration has been regarded as especially helpful for pregnant women. The story was frequently depicted in the art of

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

and the whole of

, and the keeping and display of the relic at Prato generated commissions for several important artists of the early Italian Renaissance. The Prato relic has outlasted several rivals in Catholic hands, and is the Catholic equivalent of the various relics held by

Eastern Christianity Eastern Christianity comprises Christian traditions and church families that originally developed during classical and late antiquity in Eastern Europe, Southeastern Europe, Asia Minor, the Caucasus, Northeast Africa, the Fertile Crescent and ...

: the

Cincture of the Theotokos The Cincture of the Theotokos is believed to be a relic of the Theotokos (Blessed Virgin Mary), now in the Vatopedi monastery on Mount Athos, which is venerated by the Holy Eastern Orthodox Church. The word "cincture" (Greek: ''zone'') is sometime ...

of the

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops via ...

and the

Holy Girdle The Holy Girdle, also known as the Girdle of Thomas, Holy Girdle of Mary, Holy ''Zoonoro'', (or) ''Zunoro'', and Holy Belt of Saint Mary the mother of Jesus, is a relic of the Blessed Virgin Mary which is one of the important relics of Syriac ...

of the

Syriac Orthodox Church , native_name_lang = syc , image = St_George_Syriac_orthodox_church_in_Damascus.jpg , imagewidth = 250 , alt = Cathedral of Saint George , caption = Cathedral of Saint George, Damascus ...

Legend

The legend of Thomas's girdle probably originated in the East, and was well known in Italy by the 14th century.Cassidy (1991), 93 Thomas is most famous, apart from his mission to India, for the

Doubting Thomas A doubting Thomas is a skeptic who refuses to believe without direct personal experience — a reference to the Gospel of John's depiction of the Apostle Thomas, who, in John's account, refused to believe the resurrected Jesus had appeared to t ...

episode ( John 20:24–29) where he missed the post-Resurrection appearance of Jesus to the ten other apostles, and said he would not believe Jesus had returned until he had felt his wounds. In the story of the girdle, at the

, where the other apostles were present, Thomas once again missed the occasion (being on his way back from India), so the

, aware of Thomas' sceptical nature, appeared to him individually and dropped the girdle she was wearing down onto him, to give him a physical proof of what he had seen. In other versions he was miraculously transported from India to the Mount of Olives, to be present at the actual Assumption, and the Virgin dropped her girdle down to him as she was taken up to heaven. Alternatively, only Thomas actually witnessed the Assumption, and the Virgin left the belt as a proof for his story to the other apostles (a neat inversion of the Doubting Thomas episode). The legend is described briefly in the '' Golden Legend'', with Thomas missing the Assumption and receiving the girdle later, and is, uniquely among the surviving English medieval

mystery play Mystery plays and miracle plays (they are distinguished as two different forms although the terms are often used interchangeably) are among the earliest formally developed plays in medieval Europe. Medieval mystery plays focused on the represen ...

s, covered in the

York Mystery Cycle The York Mystery Plays, more properly the York Corpus Christi Plays, are a Middle English cycle of 48 mystery plays or pageants covering sacred history from the creation to the Last Judgment. They were traditionally presented on the feast day ...

. The belt or girdle was a common symbol of chastity, and for example Saint

Thomas Aquinas Thomas Aquinas, OP (; it, Tommaso d'Aquino, lit=Thomas of Aquino; 1225 – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican friar and priest who was an influential philosopher, theologian and jurist in the tradition of scholasticism; he is known wi ...

had been given one by angels after sexual temptation.

In art

After

, only a few miles away, took control of

Prato Prato ( , ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, Italy, the capital of the Province of Prato. The city lies in the north east of Tuscany, at the foot of Monte Retaia, elevation , the last peak in the Calvana chain. With more than 200,000 i ...

in 1350–51, the girdle begins to feature in Florentine art and to be shown worn by figures of

Madonna del Parto A Madonna del Parto ("Madonna of Parturition") is an iconic depiction of the Virgin Mary shown as pregnant, which was developed in Italy, mainly in Tuscany in the 14th century. Examples include works by Taddeo Gaddi, Bernardo Daddi and Nardo di C ...

, iconic figures showing the Virgin Mary when pregnant. The simplest version of the story, known as the Madonna of the Girdle (''Madonna della Cintola'') in art, shows in its basic form the Virgin in the sky and Thomas on the ground, with the girdle being dropped or handed down. Usually Thomas is in front of the empty

sarcophagus A sarcophagus (plural sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a box-like funeral receptacle for a corpse, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from the Greek ...

that had been occupied by the Virgin, sometimes now with flowers growing in it. In more elaborate versions angels, saints, and

donor portrait A donor portrait or votive portrait is a portrait in a larger painting or other work showing the person who commissioned and paid for the image, or a member of his, or (much more rarely) her, family. ''Donor portrait'' usually refers to the portr ...

s can be present. The version of the legend where Thomas is the only apostle to see the actual Assumption means that such images may legitimately be titled as Assumptions, which they often are. Lost versions by both

Botticelli Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi ( – May 17, 1510), known as Sandro Botticelli (, ), was an Italian painter of the Early Renaissance. Botticelli's posthumous reputation suffered until the late 19th century, when he was rediscovered ...

and

Perugino Pietro Perugino (, ; – 1523), born Pietro Vannucci, was an Italian Renaissance painter of the Umbrian school, who developed some of the qualities that found classic expression in the High Renaissance. Raphael was his most famous pupil. Ear ...

(in the Sistine Chapel), are known from drawings.Rylands, 249 The incident also appears in many works showing the Assumption with the other apostles, where Thomas is catching the falling girdle, or has received the girdle and holds it, as in the Oddi Altarpiece by

Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known as Raphael (; or ; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of works by Raphael, His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of ...

and

Titian Tiziano Vecelli or Vecellio (; 27 August 1576), known in English as Titian ( ), was an Italians, Italian (Republic of Venice, Venetian) painter of the Renaissance, considered the most important member of the 16th-century Venetian school (art), ...

's ''Assumption'' in Verona Cathedral. He also holds the girdle in the ''Madonna della Cintola'' (often called an "Assumption") by Pinturicchio in the

Borgia Apartments The Borgia Apartments are a suite of rooms in the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican, adapted for personal use by Pope Alexander VI (Rodrígo de Borgia). In the late 15th century, he commissioned the Italian painter Bernardino di Betto (Pinturicchio ...

in the Vatican Palace (1492–1494), where he is the only apostle. An altarpiece by

Palma Vecchio Palma Vecchio (c. 1480 – 30 July 1528), born Jacopo Palma, also known as Jacopo Negretti, was a Venetian painter of the Italian High Renaissance. He is called Palma Vecchio in English and Palma il Vecchio in Italian ("Palma the Elder") to di ...

, now in the Brera Gallery in Milan, shows an intermediate version, with Thomas in the distance hurrying towards the other apostles, and the Virgin taking off her girdle. Prato, slightly to the north of Florence, was intended to provide a defence of the larger city against attacks from the north. Prato was taken over by Florence during a war with

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

, just before an invasion of Tuscany by

Giovanni Visconti da Oleggio Giovanni may refer to: * Giovanni (name), an Italian male given name and surname * Giovanni (meteorology), a Web interface for users to analyze NASA's gridded data * '' Don Giovanni'', a 1787 opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, based on the legend ...

in 1351, when the newly garrisoned Prato was by-passed and Florence itself besieged, before the siege was abandoned on the Feast of the Assumption. This was a huge relief, as most Florentine troops were garrisoning

Pistoia Pistoia (, is a city and ''comune'' in the Italian region of Tuscany, the capital of a province of the same name, located about west and north of Florence and is crossed by the Ombrone Pistoiese, a tributary of the River Arno. It is a typi ...

and Prato. It has been suggested that this nervous time, and the date of the lifting of the siege, stimulated the significant number of Florentine commissions of art involving the story of the girdle in the years immediately following. The most notable and influential of these is the over life-size marble relief on the rear wall of the huge "tabernacle" shrine of the Orsanmichele by

Andrea Orcagna Andrea di Cione di Arcangelo (c. 1308 – 25 August 1368), better known as Orcagna, was an Italian painter, sculptor, and architect active in Florence. He worked as a consultant at the Florence Cathedral and supervised the construction of the fa ...

of 1352–1359. In 1402

Gian Galeazzo Visconti Gian Galeazzo Visconti (16 October 1351 – 3 September 1402), was the first duke of Milan (1395) and ruled the late-medieval city just before the dawn of the Renaissance. He also ruled Lombardy jointly with his uncle Bernabò. He was the foundi ...

Duke of Milan The following is a list of rulers of Milan from the 13th century to 1814, after which it was incorporated into the Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia by the Congress of Vienna. Before elevation to duchy Until 1259, Milan was a free commune that elect ...

again invaded Florentine territory and the relic was processed round the city to protect it, and indeed he did not attack. Whether such a procession also happened in 1351 is unclear.

Gallery

File:1 Maso di Banco Descent of Mary's Girdle to the Apostle Thomas 1337-9 Staatliche Museen, Berlin.jpg,

Maso di Banco Maso di Banco (working ''c'' 1335–1350) was an Italian painter of the 14th century, who worked in Florence, Italy. He and Taddeo Gaddi were the most prominent Florentine pupils of Giotto di Bondone, exploring the three-dimensional dramatic real ...

, ''Descent of Mary's Girdle to the Apostle Thomas'', 1337-1339, Berlin. The girdle hangs down from the virgin's hand. File:Nardo di cione, madonna del parto e donatore, 1355-1360.JPG,

Nardo di cione Nardo di Cione (died c. 1366) was an Italian Painting, painter, sculptor and architect from Florence. He was the brother of the more accomplished Andrea di Cione, called Orcagna, as well as Jacopo di Cione; they were important members of the Pai ...

, ''

Madonna del parto A Madonna del Parto ("Madonna of Parturition") is an iconic depiction of the Virgin Mary shown as pregnant, which was developed in Italy, mainly in Tuscany in the 14th century. Examples include works by Taddeo Gaddi, Bernardo Daddi and Nardo di C ...

and

donor A donor in general is a person, organization or government which donates something voluntarily. The term is usually used to represent a form of pure altruism, but is sometimes used when the payment for a service is recognized by all parties as rep ...

'', 1355-1360 File:Andrea Bocchi Madonna enthroned.jpg, ''Madonna enthroned with angels and apostles'', including Thomas and the girdle in the centre panel File:Sebastiano Mainardi - Assumption of the Virgin with the Gift of the Girdle - WGA13865.jpg,

Sebastiano Mainardi Bastiano di Bartolo Mainardi (1466 – 1513) was an Italian painter of the Early Renaissance. He was born in San Gimignano and was active there and in Florence. According to Giorgio Vasari, Mainardi is portrayed in the frescoes in the Sass ...

, ''Assumption of the Virgin with the Gift of the Girdle'', 15th century,

Baroncelli Chapel The Baroncelli Chapel is a chapel located at the end of the right transept in Santa Croce, Florence, church of Santa Croce, central Florence, Italy. It has frescoes by Taddeo Gaddi executed between 1328 and 1338. Description Gaddi artworks T ...

File:Pieve delle Sante Flora e Lucilla Santa Fiora Assunzione Particolare.jpg, Andrea della Robbia, terracotta relief File:S Agostino - Sansovino Madonna del parto 002.jpg, Sansovino, a

, here including the Child, with a prominent belt. File:Cappella del sacro cingolo 03.JPG, ''Cappella del sacro cingolo'' in Prato Cathedral File:Niccolò di Cecco del Mercia, Assunta che dà la Cintola a San Tommaso.JPG, 14th century relief in the museum, perhaps from the first pulpit built to display the relic File:The Miracle of Holy Life Theodore Poulakis.png, The Miracle of the Holy Belt,

Theodore Poulakis Theodore Poulakis ( el, Θεόδωρος Πουλάκης; 1622–1692) was a Greek Renaissance painter and teacher. He is considered the father of the Heptanese School and one of the most prolific painters of Venetian Crete. Poulakis was a me ...

Art for the Prato relic

The Prato relic is kept in a

reliquary A reliquary (also referred to as a ''shrine'', by the French term ''châsse'', and historically including ''wikt:phylactery, phylacteries'') is a container for relics. A portable reliquary may be called a ''fereter'', and a chapel in which it i ...

in the ''Cappella del Sacro Cingolo'' in Prato Cathedral, and still exhibited five times annually, on the birthday of the Virgin Mary on September 8 and other feast days. In the Middle Ages the display coincided with the three days of the Prato (trading) fair, and was accompanied by elaborate civic ceremonies and festivities. After 1348, matters relating to the relic were controlled by the ''Opera del Sacro Cingolo'', a four-man lay body elected by the city council, who retained one third of the revenues collected from the pilgrims to the relic to fund their work. Following an attempted theft in 1312 and growing numbers of pilgrims, the city decided they needed to build a new chapel for the cathedral to hold the relic, which was previously kept in the cathedral choir. The new chapel is at the west end of the left aisle, near the main door. It begins with a screened-off area under the first arch of the nave, but extends back into a new section built out of the side wall of the cathedral. Completing the chapel took the rest of the century, and the girdle was finally installed on Easter Sunday in 1395. The chapel has frescoes of ''Stories of the Virgin and the Cintola'' by

Agnolo Gaddi Agnolo Gaddi (c.1350–1396) was an Italian painter. He was born and died in Florence, and was the son of the painter Taddeo Gaddi,who was himself the major pupil of the Florentine master Giotto. Agnolo was a painter and mosaicist, trained ...

(1392–1395). The 18th-century altar, which encloses the Cintola, is crowned by a marble ''Madonna with Child'' (c. 1301), considered one of Giovanni Pisano's masterpieces. Presumably because the Prato relic has always been kept folded in a reliquary, and there are many rival relics, it is noticeable that the Tuscan artists depicting it cannot agree as to its precise form, but several knots along its length and tasselled or divided ends are common features. Two successive pulpits for the public display of the relic in Prato were built, the first was apparently inside the cathedral and is now gone, but was probably decorated with the 14th century reliefs now in the cathedral's museum. The second was built outside, projecting from a corner of the cathedral, in the 1430s by

Donatello Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi ( – 13 December 1466), better known as Donatello ( ), was a Republic of Florence, Florentine sculptor of the Renaissance period. Born in Republic of Florence, Florence, he studied classical sculpture and use ...

and

Michelozzo Michelozzo di Bartolomeo Michelozzi (1396 – 7 October 1472) was an Italian architect and sculptor. Considered one of the great pioneers of architecture during the Renaissance, Michelozzo was a favored Medici architect who was extensively empl ...

, with a relief frieze of

putti A putto (; plural putti ) is a figure in a work of art depicted as a chubby male child, usually naked and sometimes winged. Originally limited to profane passions in symbolism,Dempsey, Charles. ''Inventing the Renaissance Putto''. University of ...

. This is very high, and does not allow a close view of the relic when it is displayed. This pulpit is still used today, though the rather worn original reliefs have been moved to the museum and replaced by copies. The museum also has the

Maso di Bartolomeo Maso may refer to: * Maso (goddess) * ''Maso'' (spider), a genus of spiders in the family Linyphiidae * La Masó, municipality in Spain * Bartolomé Masó, Cuba, a municipality * An informal term to describe Macedonia People with the given nam ...

of 1446–47, decorated with ''putti matching the outside pulpit; he also made the very fine Renaissance metalwork screens closing off two sides of the Cintola chapel from the aisle, which were partly paid for by the Medici. A later glass and metal reliquary now houses the relic. The main pulpit inside the cathedral, for normal preaching, is decorated with reliefs by Donatello's pupil Antonio Rossellino and

Mino da Fiesole Mino da Fiesole (c. 1429 – July 11, 1484), also known as Mino di Giovanni, was an Italian Renaissance sculptor from Poppi, Tuscany. He is noted for his portrait busts. Career Mino's work was influenced by his master Desiderio da Settignano and ...

and was completed in 1473. The central relief panel is a ''Madonna della Cintola''. The main altarpiece of the cathedral, installed in 1338, had been the same scene, probably by

Bernardo Daddi Bernardo Daddi ( 1280 – 1348) was an early Italian Renaissance painter and the leading painter of Florence of his generation. He was one of the artists who contributed to the revolutionary art of the Renaissance, which broke away from the conven ...

, from which the main panel is now lost, and the cathedral still contains other painted and terracotta relief representations by

Ridolfo Ghirlandaio Ridolfo di Domenico Bigordi, better known as Ridolfo Ghirlandaio (14 February 1483 – 6 June 1561) was an Italian Renaissance painter active mainly in Florence. He was the son of Domenico Ghirlandaio. Biography He was born in Florence. Since he ...

and others. File:Prato, duomo pulpito di donatello e michelozzo.JPG, The outside pulpit at Prato by

and

, 1430s File:Pulpito di donatello (prato), formella 04.JPG, Detail of the original pulpit reliefs in the cathedral museum File:Maso di Bartolomeo, Capsella della Sacra Cintola (1446-7) 02.jpg,

Reliquary A reliquary (also referred to as a ''shrine'', by the French term ''châsse'', and historically including ''wikt:phylactery, phylacteries'') is a container for relics. A portable reliquary may be called a ''fereter'', and a chapel in which it i ...

of 1446-7 for the Prato Girdle, now in the Diocesan Museum, by

File:Duomo di prato, pergamo di ant. rossellino e mino da fiesole 10 madonna della cintola 2.JPG, ''Madonna della Cintola'' on the pulpit by Antonio Rossellino and

, completed 1473.

Other relics

There were a number of supposed original girdle relics across the ancient Christian world, partly conflated with tertiary relics (belts that had touched the supposed genuine belt) – Elizabeth of York, queen of

Henry VII of England Henry VII (28 January 1457 – 21 April 1509) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from his seizure of the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death in 1509. He was the first monarch of the House of Tudor. Henry's mother, Margaret Beaufort ...

, bought one of these from a friar to help her pregnancy, and there was an "original" at

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...

in London. The Prato girdle was much the most reputed in the Western church, and had a legendary

provenance Provenance (from the French ''provenir'', 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody or location of a historical object. The term was originally mostly used in relation to works of art but is now used in similar senses i ...

involving a Prato merchant called Michele Dagomari who married a woman from Jerusalem who was the descendant of the

Eastern Rite Eastern Rite or Eastern liturgical rite may refer to: * liturgical rite used in Eastern Christianity: ** liturgical rites of the Eastern Orthodox Church, which mainly use the Byzantine liturgical rites ** liturgical rites of the Eastern Catholic Ch ...

priest to whom Thomas had entrusted the relic before his risky mission to India. Conventional documentary records suggest the relic was in Prato by the 1270s and may have arrived there in 1194. The

, long in the Church of St. Mary of Blachernae in

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

(Istanbul), and now in the

Vatopedi monastery The Holy and Great Monastery of Vatopedi ( el, Βατοπέδι, ) is an Eastern Orthodox monastery on Mount Athos, Greece. The monastery was expanded several times during its history, particularly during the Byzantine period and in the 18th an ...

Mount Athos Mount Athos (; el, Ἄθως, ) is a mountain in the distal part of the eponymous Athos peninsula and site of an important centre of Eastern Orthodox monasticism in northeastern Greece. The mountain along with the respective part of the penins ...

, is the main equivalent relic of the

, drawing on the same legend. It is apparently made of

camel hair Camel hair specifically refers to the fur from the body of a camel, but more generally refers to the fibre (and cloth) that may be made from either pure camel hair or a blend of camel hair and another fibre. Camel hair has two components: ''guard ...

and was embroidered in gold by the Byzantine

Empress Zoe An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother (empr ...

(978–1050). The

still venerates a relic, the

(Holy Soonoro in Syriac), in

Homs Homs ( , , , ; ar, حِمْص / ALA-LC: ; Levantine Arabic: / ''Ḥomṣ'' ), known in pre-Islamic Syria as Emesa ( ; grc, Ἔμεσα, Émesa), is a city in western Syria and the capital of the Homs Governorate. It is Metres above sea level ...

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

that is a section of a belt;Flicr page
an

page it is kept in the

Saint Mary Church of the Holy Belt Saint Mary of the Holy Belt (Um Al Zennar) Cathedral (, shortened to ; ') is a historical Syriac Orthodox cathedral in Homs, Syria. It is the seat of the Syriac Orthodox Archbishop of Homs and Hama. The present structure dates from the mid-ninet ...

, an ancient church that has been damaged during the Syrian civil war. Other sections are held in other churches. Florence's great rival,

Siena Siena ( , ; lat, Sena Iulia) is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena. The city is historically linked to commercial and banking activities, having been a major banking center until the 13th and 14th centuri ...

, acquired a competing girdle relic in 1359 for the hospital Santa Maria della Scala, and the

Basilica of Our Lady, Maastricht The Basilica of Our Lady ( nl, Basiliek van Onze-Lieve-Vrouw; li, Slevrouwe ) is a Romanesque church in the historic center of Maastricht, Netherlands. The church is dedicated to Our Lady of the Assumption ( nl, Onze-Lieve-Vrouw-Tenhemelopnemin ...

had another.

Notes

References

*Borsook, Eve, "Fra Filippo Lippi and the Murals for Prato Cathedral", ''Mitteilungen des Kunsthistorischen Institutes in Florenz'', Vol. 19, No. 1 (1975), pp. 1–148, XXXII, Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz, Max-Planck-Institut
JSTOR
*Cadogan, Jean K., "The Chapel of the Holy Belt in Prato: Piety and Politics in Fourteenth-Century Tuscany", ''Artibus et Historiae'', Vol. 30, No. 60 (2009), pp. 107–137, IRSA s.c.
JSTOR
*"Cassidy (1988)": Cassidy, Brendan, "The Assumption of the Virgin on the Tabernacle of Orsanmichele", ''Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes'', Vol. 51, (1988), pp. 174–180, The Warburg Institute
JSTOR
*"Cassidy (1991)": Cassidy, Brendan, "A Relic, Some Pictures and the Mothers of Florence in the Late Fourteenth Century", ''Gesta'', Vol. 30, No. 2 (1991), pp. 91–99, The University of Chicago Press on behalf of the International Center of Medieval Art
JSTOR
*Rylands, Philip, "Palma Vecchio's 'Assumption of the Virgin'", ''

The Burlington Magazine ''The Burlington Magazine'' is a monthly publication that covers the fine and decorative arts of all periods. Established in 1903, it is the longest running art journal in the English language. It has been published by a charitable organisation sin ...

'', Vol. 119, No. 889, (Apr., 1977), pp. 244–250
JSTOR
*Scoville, Chester Norman,
Saints And The Audience In Middle English Biblical Drama
', 2004, University of Toronto Press, {{coord, 43.8820, N, 11.0978, E, source:wikidata, display=title Christian relics Christian iconography Belts (clothing) Virgin Mary in art Thomas the Apostle