Re: Visconti serpent, Milanese cross

["David Ross" <ross@domain.elided>]

John H. corrected me:
> The adder, swallowing the Saracen, was indeed on the arms of the Visconti, and 
> should be in the public domain, but its use directly in conjunction with the 
> Milanese cross was a new combination in 1910, probably entitled to copyright 
> protection, however unwise as PR.

Quite right, I erroneously inserted the cross into the herald in my mind's eye.
Hmm, I wonder if the Lucca Cathedral - which has the Visconti arms on its facade - is
disallowed from displaying a cross as well:-)

I still like Alciato's interpretation, in which rather than a Saracen being eaten, the figure is a child being born.

- - David

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