Nicopeja signifies “Carrier of Victory”. The Doge Enrico Dandolo brought the icon Madonna of Nicopeja to Venice after the 4th Crusades that brought about the conquest of Constantinople in 1204.  The legend is that it was painted by the hand of evangelist Saint Luke, and therefore is the true imagine of the Mother of God.  It was put in the jealous custody of the clerics in San Marco, and displayed on the main altar only during the most important celebrations.  This was until 1617, when the altar of the northern transept was consecrated to the Madonna of  Nicopeia, under the cupola of Saint John, where the icon is honored today.
From the time of its arrival in the Laguna, the Madonna Nicopeja has always been the guardian of the physical salvation and spirituality of Venice, which tradition says was founded exactly on the day of Annunciation (March 25th) in the year 421.  She was invocated with solemn processions against the dire consequences of floods and drought, war and invasions, famine and plague.  There are several examples of this.  For one, she was credited with ending the plague in 1630 and was thus edified in the Basilica of the Salute (health), and on December 8, 1697, there was a procession in her honor asking her to end the Turkish threat.  Also, during Lent in 1849, under the brief Republic of Manin, she was asked to end the long rule of the Austrians.  In addition, it was attributed to the Madonna Nicopeia’s protection that no one was hurt with the frightening crumbling of San Marco’s campanile on July 14, 1902.

Features:
material: ceramic, cooked in oven,
Hand painted with gold / silver leaf and enamel,
quality design handcrafted made in Venice Italy
for indoor resistant to sun.
dimension: cm.30x24