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# Madonna delle Milizie in Scicli and the legend of the rescue of Sicily from the Saracens in 1091
- URL: https://theparnassian.com/en/madonna-delli-militse-iz-tserkvi-v-kommune-shikli-unikalnoe-voploshchenie-bogoroditsy-v-obraze-vsadnitsy-verkhom-na-belom-kone/
- Published: 2022-12-01T16:44:35.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-02T19:03:29.000Z
- Author: Alexandr Radayev
- Tags: Faith, Art, Observations, Ethnography

The Madonna delle Milizie from the church in the comune of Scicli is a unique representation of the Mother of God as a horsewoman on a white steed. According to legend, it was the Madonna herself, appearing in a radiant cloud on horseback, who saved Sicily from capture by the Saracens in 1091\. Once a year the statue is carried out of the church in a solemn procession. Beneath the horse's hooves are the figures of two vanquished enemies, one of whom is dark-skinned; one wonders whether, in time, he will be removed from the composition?

![](https://theparnassian.com/content/images/2026/09/photo_7969@01-12-2022_19-44-35.jpg)