Edizione critica commentata dell'atto di donazione della tavola della Madonna dell'Itria da parte di Sofonisba Anguissola e proposta di identificazione dei motteti raffigurati nella tavola

This article presents a critical and annotated edition of the notarial deed recording Sofonisba Anguissola’s donation of the Madonna dell’Itria panel. Previously subject to partial and sometimes misleading interpretations, the document is here re-examined through a new semi-diplomatic transcription based on rigorous palaeographical and linguistic criteria, with systematic expansion of abbreviations, faithful preservation of notarial formulae and a clear distinction between documentary evidence and interpretation. The analysis demonstrates that the deed contains no statement of authorship of the painting, but rather records a votive donation accompanied by specific liturgical obligations for the celebration of Masses in memory of Don Fabrizio Moncada.Alongside the documentary study, the article investigates the two choirbooks depicted in the painting. Close observation reveals five-line staves, white mensural notation, hollow semibreves, stemmed minims, ligatures and the probable use of the C clef, features that exclude plainchant and instead attest to measured polyphonic writing. The large-format layout intended for collective reading, together with the vertical alignment of rhythmic figures, indicates a homorhythmic performance practice consistent with syllabic devotional repertories rather than complex contrapuntal forms. The legible textual fragments correspond to verses of the Benedicta et venerabilis, a Marian gradual widely reworked in late medieval and Renaissance motet traditions. On the basis of the iconographic evidence alone, however, only a typological identification of the repertory is possible, not the reconstruction of a specific melody or modal version.