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Coat of Arms       Special characteristics of the Italian Heraldry     By: Omar Doglio Associate Member and Heraldry Artist of the AAH  (Association of Amateur Heralds)     There is evidence in existence that it indicates that the heraldry was introduced in the Sicily dominated by the Normands, following its growth in Normand England; from where it extended to the rest of Italy.   Compared with the complexity of the heraldry of England, Germany and Spain, the one of Italy is a simplicity model.  For centuries the country was divided into dozens of states, and it did not have a general heraldic authority to supervise the use of the coat of arms; until the unification of the Kingdom of Italy in 1870.  As a result, the country escaped to over-elaboration caused by too much supervision and differentiation (Seen in its worse expression in the civic heraldry of the England in the XIX Century, where there was coat of arms with even 132 quarters or internal divisions).  Many Italian coat of arms maintained one medieval simplicity, sometimes composed of a simple cross in a flat field or the division of the cut shield (divided in two halves horizontally) or party (divided in two halves vertically) in two colors, and like result also saw a great multiplication of such designs of shields of arms. The problematic history of Italy is also reflected in its heraldry, influenced by waves of invasions by the Germans, French, Spaniards and Austrians, and all of them leaving its own mark.   In addition to the foreign influence, the Italian heraldry also evolved with its own characteristics, some of which have parallelism with the development of the Italian Renaissance art.  Derived of the most streamlined Gothic heraldry of the north, unfolding the loads with one form more classic and naturalistic, reflecting the naturalistic qualities of painting and the sculpture of the period.  The composition of many Italian coat of arms is quite pictorial, a very common composition is a tree and to the right or left a lion or a dog tied with a chain; in other cases it is a tower or a tree with a small bird in its superior part.  An orange is never represented as a plant with enlarged leaves and fruits supported by a short trunk, but its represented by a life lie tree with real proportions.
Forms of coat of arms   It is understood by the space of a field in which the colors are represent (or enamels) and the figures (or furniture) of the coat of arms.  Every country had particular forms to represent its coat of arms.  The most common of all was the aimed one, used in the English heraldry, French and also Italian.  In Spain the typical field is the one of average point (with the semicircular inferior edge).   In Italy the most common was the "Sannitico" (almost square with the inferior vertices cleared and a small end in average lower).  However, the most distinguishing characteristics of the Italian heraldry are the use of fields of almond shape (formed by a circle in superior part and a triangle with the vertex downwards in the inferior one) and of "horse head" (testa di cavallo).   This last derives from the armor piece that the horses mainly wore on their skull (in front), to also protect them during the matches and in battle, and that it seems the head of a horse facing front.  Anothers form of coat of arms of the Italian heraldry is the véneto field which in his superior edge it has the ends circular returns (spiral) and in the center finish in end (as I ornament) and in the base was equal to the aimed one.  In Italy there is also the triangular form (equilateral triangle with the end downwards) and acimerada (with form of yelmo seen of profile), both of clearly German influence.   The single ladies could carry their family coat of arms on a shield of rhomboid or oval form, cimado of the crown of its personal title and surrounded of encordado and tied with silver or a garland of roses.  Married women took the joined gentilities arms of birth (united) to the left-hand side (right) of those of the husband and surmounted on the crown; widows took the arms like the married ones but with the loose encordado one, without knots, with two crossed branches of cross palm of San Andrés (it forms of X).  The established heraldry rule, like in other countries, that the feminine arms did not took yelmo, highest nor supports, but they could use the currency (called " impresa " in the Italian heraldry) of the family.
The enamels   The Enamel Rule, that establishes that metal is not to be placed on metal or color on color, it is respected rigorously.  In very rare cases where this rule is not followed, it is placed in the blazon of arms the words "per inchiesta" to indicate that herald that registered the arms it knows that this is a violation or exception more than an error when making or to drawin the arms.   Another particularity of the Italian heraldry is that the enamels are described in the blazon (in words of the colors, partitions, figures and their order in the coat of arms) just as in the daily life.  Thus red is "rosso"; blue "azzurro"; the green "verde"; the black is "nero"; and the purple "porpora".   In the heraldry of England, France and Spain the colors have special names: "Gules" for the red color; "Azur" (Azure in England) for the blue one; "Saber" for black; "Sinople" (with exception of England where it is "Vert") for the green one.   Besides the colors, in Italian heraldry (like in the rest of the national heráldicas) there are two metals: Gold and Silver ("Argent" in the heraldry of Italy), in addition to two skins or linings that are the Ermine ("Ermellino") and the Vero ("Vaio").   Other metals that are used in Italy (not generally for the field of the shield, but for outer yelmo) they are the Iron ("Ferro") and the Steel ("Acciaio").   Most of the Italian fields they have as it enamels main the red one (Gules) or the blue one (Azur); the metals (Gold and Silver) they are a little less frequent, purple and green are quite rare.
The loads   The basic pieces or of honor (head, band, sweep, chevrón, wood, etc.) were the most common in the Italian coat of arms, and differs in its use from those of England and France.  The head (third superior horizontal of the shield) often represents a political alliance, the most frequent are "head of Anjou" (capo d'Angio) that it exhibits three flowers of lily (of France) of gold on blue background and red lambel of four slopes of the House of Anjou, associated with the party Güelfo (derivative of Welfo, Duke of Baviera) loyal to the Pope; the black imperial eagle of the Sacred Germanic Roman Empire or often an unfolded black eagle (capo dell'Impero), associated with the party Ghibelline (derivative of Hohenstaufen, gentlemen of Waibling) loyal to the Emperor; head of San Stefano (capo di S. Stefano) that it was a field of silver with a red Cross of Malta (gules), used by the horsemen of the Order of S. Stefano; or the crossed keys of San Pedro and the triple tiara of the Pope.  The first two became evident in the battlefield in Benevento, Campania (year 1266), when they were head to head.     The Italian families who produced a Pope could also exhibit in its arms a "ombrellino" of gold, a species of umbrella used to cover to the dignitaries or sovereigns.  The coat of arms of the Prince Odescalchi, the head of a great Roman family, for example, had an eagle imperial in a strip and ombrellino of gold on its shield.   With exception of lambel (horizontal tape with three or four square slopes or triangular positions in vertical form, that cross superior part of the shield) pieces like brisuras, were not used, marks of difference between generation and generation (are to say first-born, second son, third son, etc.).  Occasionally changes were used in enamels for such differences, other than that these brisuras were infrequent and a system was never developed, as if it existed in England or Spain.   Certain loads are much more frequent than others.  The stars and comets abound, generally of metal (gold or silver), first are of six ends, unless the blazon indicates another thing.  The towers, castles and churches normally go in their color (natural).  The mounts leaving the base of the shield are so characteristic of the continental Europian heraldry evolved in longer pieces and of semicircular ends, one on another one, usually in number of three or five, creating a formation streamlined found in many Italian coat of arms.  The oldest coat of arms, the mounts were represented like mountains with three or five summits (like the Sasso coat of arms in the city of Scala, Amalfi), usually green.  The Italian heraldry also used the papal coat of arms like loads, the most usual were the crossed keys of San Pedro (one of gold and another one of silver) and papal tiara of three levels.     Almost without exceptions the natural loads, of the fauna and flora, are rich and very distinguishing, and they are placed natural, is to say with the own colors of the plant or animal.  The clusters of grapes, canes and ferns are very common.  Also, trees like: oaks, palms, olive trees, pines, almonds tree, and brown.  These appear broken (with his visible roots) unless the blazon specifies another thing.     Between the habitual animal collections represented in heraldry, the most common is the lion represented in its rampante form; and an unfolded eagle generally represented (with its open wings).  Between the distinguishing loads of the Italian blazons are buglio, a Mediterranean fish similar to a small codfish.  Most of the fish found in Italy in the middle age and mentioned in blazons of arms are extinct at the present time.  The lebreles (galgos dogs), hares, mastines napolitanos and serpents, are found regularly.  The geco lizard appears in some coat of arms, specially in Sicily, where they are seen during the summer.  A blazon load simply like a "dog" (cane) its normally represented like a lebrel, unless is blazon like a "mastín" (mastino).  The deers and wild boars can be found occasionally, mainly in the Alpine regions.  The fantastic animals or mitológicos seem to have disappeared in the Italian Armorials, occasionally some dragoon can be found, seahorse (sea horse), even a unicorn is rare.  The human loads, the open arms and carrying arms, are found with certain regularity.  A load that is found in some Italian arms and that is share only with Spanish heraldry is the head of Moor represented with a usually white turban (of silver).
Exterior Ornaments   Like in the heraldry of France and Spain, the cimeras (three-dimensional shapes done in leather figures that were placed on yelmo of the horsemen to differentiate them in the matches) are rare, but when they appear outlandish like in the arms of the Sforza family of Milan or the Dal Verme of Verona.  Turned fabric bureletes, pieces alternating colors of the coat of arms (generally two, the main metal and the enamel main), they are remarkably fine and often they are used with rank crowns, or still the crown of rank directly on the shield without burelete nor yelmo, a combination not found in other places of Europe.     The coat of arms of Dukes and Princes are put on mantle of "pórpora" (really of red), trimmed and cordoned of covered gold and of ermine.  The mantle is a presentation of royal coat of arms or the royalty found through Europe, with exception of Britania.  It has been suggested that the mantle, a luck of " carpa heráldica ", has its origins in seals of the princes of the XIV and XV centuries, in which carpets purely ornamental unfolded behind the coat of arms, some times maintained by small figures.  One more in tune explanation, can be that the mantle is a heraldry representation of a "cape of state" or baldachino suspended on the throne or chair of state of a great dignitary.  They were transformed into regular accessories of the arms of princes in the continental Europe of XVI century.  The mantle was transformed into a "pavilion" and is reserved only for the arms of the sovereigns.     The central Italy heraldry is inevitably bound with that of the Catholic Church, by centuries the Pope has been the ruling sovereign of the papal states as well as the head of the Church.  The papal arms same with the crossed keys of San Pedro, the triple tiara, and the rare one combination of two metals, gold and silver, are probably the more relative examples of the Italian heraldry.
Bibliografy:   Thomas Woodcock (Somerset Herald), John Martin Robinson (Maltravers Herald Extraordinary): The Oxford Guide to Heraldry. European Heraldry, páginas 26-29. Oxford University Press, 2001.   Henry Bedingfeld (Rouge Croix Pursuivant), Peter Gwynn-Jones (Lancaster Herald): Heraldry. International Heraldry, páginas 142-143. Chartwell Books Inc., 1993.   Luigi Mendola: DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS OF EARLY ITALIAN HERALDRY. The New Zealand Armiger, Junio 1995.       Web page of Omar Doglio:   http://webs.montevideo.com.uy/odoglio/
All rights reserved.  Alejandro Antonio Pisani Aguilera.  Copyright 2004 - 2005.