In English, almond. An almond shape used in art to surround saintly figures, like the Virgin Mary or Christ, to denote their divinity. The device is more common in works belonging to the Proto-Renaissance era, for example, the Strozzi Altarpiece (1354-1357) in the Strozzi Chapel at Santa Maria Novella, Florence,by Andrea Orcagna, where Christ is centered in a mandorla and surrounded by seraphim. In the Baptistery of Padua, the Virgin is enclosed in a mandorla in Giusto de' Menabuoi's fresco (c. 1378) and hovers above the entrance to the tomb of Fina Buzzacarini, the patron. A work that belongs to the Early Renaissance that utilizes the device is the Sansepolcro Altarpiece by Sassetta (1437-1444; Borgo di Sansepolcro, Church of San Francesco) where St. Francis, enclosed in a mandorla, hovers above the sea with the Franciscan Virtues of Charity, Poverty, and Obedience above him.
Historical dictionary of Renaissance art. Lilian H. Zirpolo. 2008.