Biscione

The ''biscione'' or ''bisson'' . ("big grass snake"), less commonly known also as the ''vipera'' (" viper"), is a heraldic charge showing on argent an azure serpent in the act of eating or giving birth to a human. It is a historic symbol of the city of Milan, used by companies based in the city.

History

Etymologically, word ''biscione'' is a masculine augmentative of Italian feminine ''biscia'' "grass snake" (corrupted from ''bistia'', ultimately from Latin "beast").

The charge became associated with the city after the Visconti family gained control over Milan 1277; Bonvesin da la Riva records it in his ''De magnalibus urbis Mediolani'' (''On the Marvels of the City of Milan'') as a Visconti symbol no later than the end of the 13th century. The symbol may have been derived from a bronzed serpent brought to Milan from Constantinople by Arnolf II of Arsago (Archbishop of Milan 998–1018) in the 11th century.

One of the oldest depictions of the Biscione is in the Great Hall of the Visconti Castle of Angera. The hall was painted at the end of the 13th century with frescoes celebrating Archbishop Ottone Visconti's victory against the rival family of the Della Torre. The viper swallowing a small human figure is depicted in the pendentives of the hall.

The ''biscione'' remained associated with the Duchy of Milan even after the Visconti line died out in the 15th century. The House of Sforza incorporated the symbol into their armorial after taking the duchy.

Contemporary use

As a symbol of Milan, the ''biscione'' is used by multiple organizations associated with or based in the city. Football club Inter Milan is commonly represented by a ''biscione'', and the team's 2010–11 away shirt prominently featured the symbol. Milan-based auto manufacturer Alfa Romeo (also known as the ''Casa del Biscione'', Italian for "House of the ''Biscione''" or "''Biscione'' smarque") includes a ''biscione'' in its logo impaled with a red cross on white (derived from the flag of Milan), as does espresso machine manufacturer Bezzera. Silvio Berlusconi, who was born and remains based in Milan, uses stylized ''biscione'' symbols in the logos for his companies Mediaset and Fininvest (with the child replaced by a flower); his residential zones Milano Due and Milano Tre and the Mediaset-owned television channel Canale 5 all also use ''biscione''-inspired imagery.

Outside Milan, a similar design is found in the seals of the Hungarian nobleman Nicholas I Garai, palatine to the King of Hungary (1375–1385). Here the crowned snake devours a sovereign's orb, rather than a human. The arms of the towns of Sanok in Poland and Pruzhany in Belarus also feature the symbol, honoring the marriage of Bona Sforza to Sigismund I of Poland while both towns were part of Poland–Lithuania.

The band Lacuna Coil used a ''biscione'' for the '' Black Anima'' album cover artwork and limited edition tarot cards.

Similar symbols

Comparable to the ''biscione'' are some depictions of the Hindu deity Matsya. While his form is referred to as anthropomorphically having a humanoid upper half, and his lower half as that of a fish, some depictions show him with his upper body emerging from the mouth of a fish. In early Christian art of the catacombs, the Old Testament prophet Jonah is depicted as a man being swallowed by a serpent-like Leviathan, a sea creature of Hebrew myth.

Coats of arms, flags and symbols bearing the ''biscione''

File:Blason famille it Visconti2.svg, The early arms of the Duchy of Milan under the House of Visconti. The coronet on the snake distinguishes this variant from the plain arms of the Visconti family.
File:Coat of arms of the House of Sforza.svg, The coat of arms of the House of Sforza, featuring two ''biscioni'' and two ''Reichsadler''s ( Imperial Eagles symbolizing the German and Austrian domination over Lombardy).
File:Flag of the Duchy of Milan (1450).svg, The flag of the Duchy of Milan, also featuring two ''biscioni'' and two Imperial Eagles.
File:Milano - Castello sforzesco - Stemma Galeazzo Maria Dux Mediolani quintus - Foto G. Dall'Orto - 6-jan-2007.jpg, A variation of the previous: the arms of Galeazzo Maria Sforza, as inside the Sforza Castle.
File:Bona Sforza's seal.png, Bona Sforza's seal, bearing similarities to the other Sforza symbols.
File:Wernigeroder Wappenbuch 060.jpg, Coat of arms of the Sforza and Caravaggio houses, as in the German-language book '' Wernigeroder (Schaffhausensches) Wappenbuch''.
File:Blason Louis VII de Rohan.svg, The blason of the Duchy of Montbazon.
File:CoA.VescovoVisconti.png, The arms of Ortensio Visconti, Bishop of Lodi's Kingdom of Italy, including many symbols of Italian cities and the Imperial Eagle.
File:Coat of arms of the Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia.svg, The coat of arms of the Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia (an Austrian crown land) quartered the ''biscione'' with the Venetian Lion of Saint Mark.
File:IMG 7177 - Milano - Staz. C.le - Biscione visconteo usato come stemma di MI - Foto Giovanni Dall'Orto 18-Mar-2007.jpg, The ''biscione'' as a symbol of Milan, seen here at the Milano Centrale railway station.
File:POL Sanok COA.svg, The coat of arms (the flag is very similar) of Sanok, bearing the ''biscione'' due to Bona Sforza.
File:Coat of Arms of Pružany, Belarus.svg, The official seal of Pruzany (also featured in its flag), also bearing the ''biscione'' due to Bona.
File:IMG 3734 - Milano - Stemma visconteo- sull'Arcivescovado - Foto di Giovanni Dall'Orto - 15-jan-2007.jpg, Depiction of the ''biscione'' swallowing a child, the coat of arms of the House of Visconti, on the Archbishop's palace in Piazza Duomo in Milan, Italy.
File:Bellinzona.Wappen.png, The city of Bellinzona in the Swiss canton of Ticino.

See also

* Flag of Milan
* Guivre
* History of Milan
* Basilisk
* Leviathan
* Ouroboros

Notes

References

Bibliography

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External links

Heraldic beasts
Legendary serpents
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History of Milan
Culture in Milan
Italian legendary creatures
Fictional snakes
Snakes in art
Italian heraldry

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