One of the most beautiful cities in northern Italy is forced to conquer a place under the sun, because it is located on a narrow strip of land, sandwiched on one side by the Apennine mountains, on the other - by the sea. At the same time, the coat of arms of Genoa does not say anything about the peculiarities of the geographical location. But with the help of symbols it demonstrates its political position yesterday and today.
Description of the main heraldic sign of Genoa
The coat of arms of this Italian city looks fantastically beautiful and stylish, all this can be explained by the correct choice of elements included in the coat of arms composition. The second point is a chic palette, including shades of precious metals, gold and silver, also the most popular color in heraldry - scarlet.
It is also important to note that the composition is built according to the canons of heraldic science, it is quite simple, it includes the following components:
- a silver shield of St. George with a scarlet cross in the middle;
- two supporters in the images of mythical creatures - griffins;
- openwork, decorative base;
- a tape with an inscription in Latin LIBERTAS;
- a crown in the form of a fortress with seven towers.
Each of the elements of the coat of arms of Genoa has its own symbolic meaning, the roots of which should be sought in the depths of the history of not only this Italian city, but the entire country.
An excursion into the history of the city and the coat of arms
The modern heraldic symbol of Genoa has a light, twisted base, reminiscent of a decorative element. In special literature, you can find a color photo in which the base is more serious, and the complex pattern resembles a boar's head. In addition, on separate documents you can see the image of the god Giano, the progenitor of the Genoese. He is associated with the Roman god Janus, who is known to be two-faced. With humor, the inhabitants of the city say that their Genoa is two-faced, since part of it faces the sea, and the second looks into the mountains.
Further changes befell the heraldic symbol of Genoa with the establishment of the reign of Napoleon Bonaparte, who in 1811 demanded the addition of his own symbols, in particular, three golden bees and a crown with seven teeth.
After the fall of the Republic of Genoa, and its incorporation into the Kingdom of Sardinia, further changes were made to the heraldic sign of the city. They were insignificant from the artistic point of view - the tails of the griffins on the new coat of arms were lowered down. But the inhabitants of the city considered them significant, the "lowered" tails became a symbol of the subordination of Genoa to the new government, Sardinia. In 2000, the former coat of arms of the city was restored.
