Mosaic of the Madonna from Palermo Cathedral

Norman kings invited Byzantine mosaicists from Constantinople to Sicily to decorate their cathedrals and palaces. They created spectacular, Byzantine-style golden mosaics. This mosaic shows a Byzantine image, the Virgin Mary as Advocate, arms raised as she intercedes with Christ on behalf of the human race. It is all that remains 
of the extensive mosaic decor made in Palermo Cathedral during the reigns of Roger II and William II.