A beautiful Italian city, not the capital of the country, but the center of light industry and a trendsetter, can be proud that its main symbol is more than one century old. The coat of arms of Milan looks, on the one hand, laconic, on the other hand, very rich and dignified.
Deep history
Specialists in the field of Italian heraldry believe that the main symbol of Milan appeared at the beginning of the 11th century. It is based on the unification of emblems symbolizing the local nobility, representatives of wealthy families, and the people. The coat of arms of the city consists of the following elements that play an important role:
- a symbolic wreath at the base;
- a central silver shield with a red cross;
- the crown crowning the composition in the form of an ancient castle.
The wreath at the bottom of the coat of arms is woven from laurel and oak branches. This is one of the most popular plants in world heraldry, laurel symbolizes victory, oak - power, strength, power. The branches are tied with a ribbon, the colors of which match the colors of the national flag of Italy.
The silver shield has a pointed end and two colors related to the main ones in heraldry - silver (sometimes depicted as white) and scarlet. This combination looks perfect on a color photo, while it has deep symbolism, the unification of power (white) and people (red).
This image came to be used as an official symbol after the major battle of Legnano in 1176, which ended with the victory of the troops of the Lombard League, the unification of northern Italian cities, over the army of the Holy Roman Empire.
Variations on the theme of the coat of arms
The main element of the coat of arms - a silver-colored shield with a red cross - has remained unchanged throughout history. However, other elements appeared and disappeared. In addition, the variants of the image became symbols not only of the city of Milan, but also of the province with the same name, the commune, which was formed here at the beginning of the twentieth century.
The most significant changes include the division of the shield into two fields, the lower one acquired an azure color and contained the image of a golden, radiant sun and a silver crescent. The second change was that olive and oak branches appeared in the crown, which lost the appearance of the castle, turning into the "usual" precious attire of the monarch.
In the 1930s, the coat of arms again underwent some minor changes. Today's image was legally enshrined in official documents in 1992. In 2008, a variant appeared that uses part of the coat of arms as the city's logo, a bright advertising, quickly remembered sign.
