[alfa] Re: Alfa heraldry

[George Graves <gmgraves@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Biba,

The term 'Visconti" literally means Viscount or Duke. The first Duke or 
Milan, one Ottone of Invario, adopted the title as his last name, one 
would assume in the same manner that many surnames were spawned in the 
middle ages; I.E. after what one did for a living, such as Miller, 
Cartwright, Smith, etc.

The cross, OTOH, is the cross of the Hospitalers of the Order of Saint 
John (later known as the Knights of Rhodes) from the Crusades adopted 
by the City of Milan as their flag (which it remains to this day). In 
fact, when Merosi, the first director of A.L.F.A. wanted to use it for 
the Alfa logo, he had to petition the city for permission to do so.

George Graves
'86 GTV-6 3.0 'S'
(CA Lic# 'TIPO116')



On Nov 28, 2004, at 9:50 PM, alfa-digest wrote:

>
> Date: Sun, 28 Nov 2004 11:22:38 -0800
> From: alfacybersite <acs@domain.elided>
> Subject: [alfa] Alfa heraldry
>
> Darryl Davis wrote: the serpent is the visconte family so the double
> alfa romeo sign signifies a duke and a viscount lovin it!
>
> ******
>
> Umm, Darryl, a duke is a guy and so is a viscount. Perhaps (hopefully)
> you meant either duchess and viscount or duke and viscountess?
>
> Assuming it's one of the latter two "possibilities", are you suggesting
> a literal interpretation as in cannibalism, or a more figurative one
> whereas it ends with a cigarette and the question, "Was it good for 
> you?"
>
> We've not delved into the red cross, but I assume also it has a
> religious significance. Do find it difficult to swallow (pun intended)
> there'd be both blatant sex and religious fervor on the same crest. 
> Last
> I heard that would be like mixing oil and water on one's crest -
> especially if one lives in a red state (sorry, couldn't resist bringing
> in a bit of 'merican politics).
>
> Biba
> Irwindale, CA USA
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