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This icon was the protector of the city of Candia (now Heraklion) on the island of Crete. It was supposed to be painted by the Apostole Lucas (Luke).
The icon was moved from the city of Candia to the city of Venice in 1669, after the occupation of Ottoman Empire, and arrived in 1670.
As it was the most famous symbol of the second-most important city of the Venetian Empire, and as a symbol of health, the Venetians put it in the cathedral of Santa Maria della Salute, St Maria of health.
Cretans hope that this icon will return to its homeland one day.
A more common spelling is Panagia Mesopanditissa.
- Dermitzaki, Argyri. Shrines in a Fluid Space: The Shaping of New Holy Sites in the Ionian Islands, the Peloponnese and Crete under Venetian Rule (14th–16th Centuries). E.J.Brill, 2022.