Italian Coats Of Arms (Family Crest)

The earliest surviving example of a family coat of arms ( family crest) in Italy is a carving on a stone tomb in the Church of Aracoeli in Rome dating to 1213. The arms is, however, believed to be of Norman origin.

 The Italian family Colonna can date their arms to Vatican archives of 1290. The arms feature a Roman column, a pun on the name itself. This is known as “canting arms” and while it occurs in coats of arms from every European country, the Italian usage of canting became widespread in the middle ages. A mural in the city of Milan, painted in 1341, shows the arms of the Visconti of Milan, one of the most famous, and striking,  of all the Italian family crests. The shield depicts a crowned serpent, on a white background, devouring a man.

At www.shieldandcrest.com we research Italian coats of arms (family crests) in Dizionario Storico Blasonico, a reference work compiled by G.B. Di Crollalanza. The arms, as usual in reference books, are in strict written form, and in the Italian language. Here is an example. “D’azzurro, a tre stele di otto raggi d’oro; col capo di rosso caricato di un giglio d’oro” It’s a blue shield with three eight pointed gold stars, with a red stripe across the top with a gold lily ( Actually a fleur de lys) Our expert knowledge of both Italian, and the more complex language of heraldry, take the written form and translate it into a hand-painted work of art for you to treasure for decades to come. If you need more information on this, or any other heraldry subject, contact us Toll Free (866) 289-2798 or at www.shieldandcrest.com.