Giotto depicts the kerchief returned to Plautilla on the back of the Stefaneschi Triptych

The Roman noblewoman Plautilla gave Saint Paul her headscarf so that he would have something to blindfold himself with at his execution. Saint Paul promised to return the scarf after his death.

On the reverse of the panel showing the beheading of Paul, in the Stefaneschi Triptych, Giotto depicted the moment when the scarf is returned to Plautilla from the other world.

Pinacoteca of the Vatican Museums. The triptych was painted by Giotto with the help of several pupils and is named after Cardinal Stefaneschi, who commissioned it.

Plautilla (Plautilla of Rome), baptised, it is supposed, by the holy Apostle Peter, herself suffered a martyr's death, during the reign of the Emperor Nero, around the year 67. After her conversion to Christianity, the Apostle Paul became Plautilla's guardian, and she is present at his execution in the canonical depictions.

Saint Plautilla is venerated on 20 May.

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