A mesmerizing band of interlocking diamond and star forms — white marble against dark porphyry and grey granite — stretches across the full width of this postcard, reproducing a 12th-century Cosmatesque mosaic floor or wall frieze from the Monreale Cathedral in Sicily, one of the supreme monuments of Norman-Arab-Byzantine art. The optical illusion of tumbling cubes created by the three-tone geometric pattern seems almost impossibly modern, yet it was laid by Sicilian craftsmen working under the patronage of King William II around 1174–1185 CE. The caption identifies it precisely: Fascia Geometrica (sec. XII) — Geometric Band, 12th century — making this postcard a genuine document of decorative arts history in addition to a striking visual object.