The emblem of the Visconti is the symbol of Milan The Biscione ('large grass snake'), also known as the Vipera (‘viper’ or in Milanese as the Bissa), is a heraldic charge showing a blue serpent in the act of swallowing a human – usually a child, and sometimes described as a Moor. It has been the emblem of the Italian Visconti family for around a thousand years. According to the legend, in the 1100s, Ottone Visconti, during the Second Crusade, led an army of Milanese citizens in the siege of Jerusalem, and challenged the cruel Saracen Voluce to a duel. Voluce’s coat of arms was a snake devouring a man. Ottone killed the Saracen, took his weapons and his symbol and brought it to Milan and decided to adopt the warrior’s coat of arm as his own. The symbol of the House of Visconti was born and, when the Visconti family gained control of Milan, the biscione became the symbol of the city. The man eaten by the snake was replaced by a red Saracen and later became a child, with the aim of showing the goodness of the Visconti’s snake. House of Visconti Later, the biscione appears in the coats of arms of the House of Sforza, Milan, the historical Duchy of Milan and Insubria. It is also used as a symbol or logo by the Italian football (or soccer, for my American readers) club Inter Milan, and in a version where a flower replaces the child, by Fininvest, as well as the Italian automobile manufacturer, Alfa Romeo and the logo of the private Italian TV network, Canale 5 – Mediaset (Channel 5). The biscione as a symbol of Milan in the Castello Sforzesco Historical Origins Images of the biscione are found throughout history in different civilizations. One of the most notable is in the representation of the Aztec god, Quetzalcoatl. Notwithstanding the similarities of these two images, since Visconti adopted the Biscione in the 1200s, and the Europeans did not meet the Aztecs until much later, it is very doubtful that the Aztec serpent had any influence on the origin of the Italian Biscione. Quetzalcoatl The Biscione in Modern Times Inter Milan Biscione Silvio Berlusconi's Biscione Alfa Romeo Emblem Canale 5 – Mediaset, Milano Logo The Biscione – found at the Grazzano Visconti (Province of Piacenza) near Milan
9 Comments
While I was doing some research on the topic for my next blog entry about the Alfa Romeo 4C, I found – almost serendipitously – three articles on Lorenzo Ramaciotti. He is arguably the greatest car designer, still busily putting pen to paper. Ramaciotti started his career at Pininfarina in 1972 and stayed with the design house for over 30 years. He was its design director for the last two decades. In that time, he personally designed some of the most beautiful cars of recent years, including the Ferrari 456, 360 Modena, F430, 550 Maranello, the Enzo Ferrari, 612 Scaglietti and the very popular Peugeot 406 Coupe. After retiring from Pininfarina in 2005, Ramaciotti was coaxed out of retirement to head global design for Fiat-Chrysler, where he’s overseen (among others) the Maserati GT, the Maserati Quatropporte, the Alfa Romeo 2010 Giuletta and the beautiful Alfa Romeo 4C.
All in all, he has been responsible for more than 30 production cars and 25 concept cars like the 1989 Ferrari Mythos and the 2005 Maserati Birdcage. Looking at those objects of art, Sam Phillips’ question resonates in my ears: “Why is it that despite the dramatic increase in computing 3D design and production techniques, present-day car designers seem to struggle to create cars as beautiful as those simple, elegant post-war classics that epitomize the approach of Italian design – “proportions, simplicity and balance”. I hope you enjoy these three articles. |
John WernlyHello World! I'm new to blogging, and I would like to start out by sharing with you some of my automotive fandom. ArchivesCategories |