Story of the true Belt
Bernardo Daddi·1337
Historical Context
The Story of the True Belt (Sacra Cintola) by Bernardo Daddi, painted around 1337, depicts the legend of the Virgin Mary's girdle, which according to tradition was given to the apostle Thomas at her Assumption and later brought to Prato, near Florence. The relic of the Sacred Belt was Prato's most treasured possession and the focus of intense civic and religious devotion. Daddi, as one of Florence's leading painters, was a natural choice for commissions celebrating this important regional cult that reinforced Prato's close ties to its larger Florentine neighbor.
Technical Analysis
Executed in egg tempera on gold-ground panel, the narrative composition arranges multiple episodes of the legend in a sequential format typical of Gothic hagiographic painting. Daddi's clear storytelling, graceful figural style, and attention to architectural settings make the narrative easily readable for devotional contemplation.
