The biscione as a symbol of Milan, seen here at the Central Station

The biscione, together with the Imperial eagle, on the coat of arms of the Duchy of Milan

The Biscione (‘large grass snake’), also known as the Vipera (‘viper’ or in Milanese as the Bissa), is a heraldic charge showing a blue serpent in the act of swallowing a human: usually a child and sometimes described as a Moor. It has been the emblem of the Italian Visconti family for around a thousand years. Its origins are unknown. However it has been claimed that it was taken from the coat of arms of a Saracen killed by Ottone Visconti during the crusades. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 490 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (806 × 985 pixel, file size: 546 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Il biscione araldico dei Visconti usato come stemma di Milano nellandrone della Stazione Centrale di Milano. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 490 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (806 × 985 pixel, file size: 546 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Il biscione araldico dei Visconti usato come stemma di Milano nellandrone della Stazione Centrale di Milano. ... This article is about the city in Italy. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... The Duchy of Milan was a state in northern Italy from 1395 to 1797. ... Binomial name Natrix natrix Linnaeus, 1758 The Grass Snake, sometimes called the Ringed Snake or Water Snake (Natrix natrix) is a European non-venomous snake. ... Subfamilies Crotalinae (Pit Vipers) Viperinae (Vipers) The Viperidae family is made up of two subfamilies: Crotalinae (Pit Vipers) Viperinae (Vipers) Categories: Stub | Snakes ... Milanese (milanes, milanées, meneghin, meneghìn) is a variety of Western Lombard spoken in the city of Milan and in its province. ... Heraldry is the science and art of describing of coats-of-arms, also referred to as achievements or armorial bearings. ... In heraldry, a charge is an image occupying the field on an escutcheon (or shield). ... Moorish Ambassador to Queen Elizabeth I of England The Moors were the medieval Muslim inhabitants of al-Andalus (the Iberian Peninsula including present day Gibraltar, Spain and Portugal) as well as the Maghreb and western Africa, whose culture is often called Moorish. ... Visconti was a noble family that ruled Milan during the Middle Ages and Early Renaissance period. ... In older Western historical literature, the Saracens were the people of the Saracen Empire, another name for the Arab Caliphate under the rule of the Umayyad and Abbasid dynasties. ... Ottone Visconti (1207 - August 8, 1295) was an archbishop of Milan, a member of the Visconti family and the founder of their rule in Milan. ... The Siege of Antioch, from a medieval miniature painting, during the First Crusade. ...

The biscione appears in the coats of arms of the House of Sforza, Milan, the historical Duchy of Milan and Insubria. It is also used as a symbol or logo by the football club Inter Milan, by Alfa Romeo and, in a version where a flower replaces the child, by Fininvest. Map of Italy in 1494. ... This article is about the city in Italy. ... The Duchy of Milan was a state in northern Italy from 1395 to 1797. ... Hystorical area in Italian Republic, in the past inhabited by Insubrian, a celtic people who lived north of Po river, in an area between Adda river and Sesia river. ... Football Club Internazionale Milano (commonly, but incorrectly, known as Inter Milan) is an Italian football club, playing in the Serie A (first division). ... Alfa Romeo is an Italian automobile manufacturing company, founded as Darracq Italiana by Cavaliere Ugo Stella, an aristocrat from Milan in partnership with the French automobile firm of Alexandre Darracq. ... Fininvest is a financial holding company that controls all of Silvio Berlusconis companies, e. ...