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((Short description|Heraldic animal))
((Refimprove|date=September 2016))
((Use dmy dates|date=January 2024))
((Italics title))
[[File:Arms of the House of Visconti (1277).svg|thumb|The coat of arms of the [[Visconti of Milan|House of Visconti]] showing the ''biscione'']]
[[File:Arms of the House of Visconti (1395).svg|thumb|The coat of arms of the [[Visconti of Milan|House of Visconti]] showing the ''biscione'' wearing a crown]]
The '''''biscione'''''((efn|Italian: ((IPA-it|biʃˈʃoːne|)); ((plural form)): ((lang|it|biscioni)); ((lang-lmo|label=[[Milanese dialect|Milanese]]|bissa)) (((IPA-lmo|ˈbisa|))) or ''bisson'' (((IPA-lmo|biˈsũː|))).)) ([[English language|English]]: "big [[grass snake]]"), less commonly known also as the '''''vipera''''',((efn|Italian: ((IPA-it|ˈviːpera|)), meaning [[Viperidae|viper]]; ((plural form)): ''vipere''.)) is in [[heraldry]] a [[Charge (heraldry)|charge]] consisting of a serpent in the act of eating or giving birth to a human. It is a historic symbol of the city of [[Milan]], used by companies based in the city.

==History==
Etymologically, word ''biscione'' is a masculine [[:wikt:-one#Italian|augmentative]] of Italian feminine ''biscia'' "[[grass snake]]" (corrupted from ''bistia'', ultimately from Latin ((lang|la|bestia)) "beast").
<!-- Do not dump random speculation without proper references, please.
Its iconographic origins date back to [[Early christian art and architecture|paleochristian]] times, to the biblical story of [[Jonah]] and the [[Leviathan]] in the act of swallowing (and/or regurgitating) him, a common motif representing the [[resurrection]].((cn)) It has been claimed that it was taken from the coat of arms of a [[Saracen]] killed by Ottone Visconti during the [[Crusades]]")((Citation needed|date=March 2011)). Additionally, a man being swallowed by a serpent but being rescued features in a number of [[legends about Theoderic the Great]], most prominently in the poem ''Virginal'', where the city of [[Arona (NO)|Arona]], which was owned by the Visconti, is featured.((cn)) The figure may also represent the circumpolar constellation [[Draco (constellation)|Draco]], from whose "mouth" emerges the brilliant star [[Vega]], in constellation Lyra (symbolized as a falling vulture in Arabian astronomy; Lyra is near Cygnus, which is the "Chicken" in Arabian astronomy; Jonah may be related to both, because it means "Dove"),((Citation needed|date=January 2011)) or also a symbol of the "coiling" path of the Moon towards the eclipse points.
-->

The charge became associated with the city after the [[Visconti of Milan|Visconti family]] gained control over Milan 1277; [[Bonvesin da la Riva]] records it in his ''De magnalibus urbis Mediolani'' (''On the Marvels of the City of Milan'') as a Visconti symbol no later than the end of the 13th century.<ref>((harvp| Reina |2018|p=68))</ref> The symbol may have been derived from a bronzed serpent brought to Milan from [[Constantinople]] by [[Arnulf II (archbishop of Milan)|Arnolf II of Arsago]] ([[Archbishop of Milan]] 998–1018) in the 11th century.<ref>((harvp| Reina |2018|p=69))</ref> 

[[File:9647 - Milano - Sant'Ambrogio - Serpente di Basilio II (1007) - Foto Giovanni Dall'Orto 25-Apr-2007.jpg|thumb|right|The bronzed serpent brought to [[Milan]] from [[Constantinople]] in the 11th century, today in the [[Basilica of Sant'Ambrogio]], is thought to have inspired the ''biscione''.]]

One of the oldest depictions of the Biscione is in the Great Hall of the [[Rocca Borromeo di Angera|Visconti Castle of Angera]]. The hall was painted at the end of the 13th century with frescoes celebrating [[Ottone Visconti|Archbishop Ottone Visconti]]'s victory against the rival family of the [[Della Torre]]. The viper swallowing a small human figure is depicted in the pendentives of the hall.<ref>((harvp| Dunlop |2009 |p=168))</ref>

[[File:Angera - Rocca Borromea 5437.JPG|thumb|right|The Biscione was depicted in the Great Hall of the [[Rocca Borromeo di Angera|Angera castle]] at the end of the 13th century.]]

The ''biscione'' remained associated with the [[Duchy of Milan]] even after the Visconti line died out in the 15th century.<ref>((cite book |last1=Fox-Davies |first1=Arthur Charles |title=A Complete Guide to Heraldry: Illustrated by Nine Plates and Nearly 800 Other Designs |date=1909 |location=London |publisher=T.C. & E.C. Jack |url=https://openlibrary.org/works/OL2634441W/A_Complete_Guide_to_Heraldry |isbn=0-517-26643-1 |lccn=09023803 | language=en )) Page 257</ref> The [[House of Sforza]] incorporated the symbol into their armorial after taking the duchy.

==Contemporary use==
As a symbol of Milan, the ''biscione'' is used by multiple organizations associated with or based in the city. Football club [[Inter Milan]] is commonly represented by a ''biscione'', and the team's 2010–11 and 2021–22 away shirts prominently featured the symbol. Milan-based auto manufacturer [[Alfa Romeo]] (also known as the ''Casa del Biscione'', Italian for "House of the ''Biscione''" or "''Biscione''['s] marque") includes a ''biscione'' in its logo [[impalement (heraldry)|impaled]] with a red cross on white (derived from the [[flag of Milan]]), as does espresso machine manufacturer [[Bezzera]]. [[Silvio Berlusconi]], who was born and remained based in Milan, did use stylized ''biscione'' symbols in the logos for his companies [[Mediaset]] and [[Fininvest]] (with the child replaced by a flower); his residential zones [[Milano Due]] and Milano Tre and the Mediaset-owned television channel [[Canale 5]] all also use ''biscione''-inspired imagery.

Outside Milan, a similar design is found in the seals of the Hungarian nobleman [[Nicholas I Garai]], [[Palatine of Hungary|palatine]] to the King of Hungary (1375–1385). Here the crowned snake devours a [[Globus cruciger|sovereign's orb]], rather than a human.<ref>((cite book |first1=Veress D. |last1=Csaba |title=Ugod |series=Száz magyar falu könyvesháza (One Hundred Hungarian Villages) |editor-first1= Hermann |editor-last1=István  |location=Budapest. |publisher=magyar állam millenniumára. Elektronikus megjelenítés: NKÖEOK Szerkesztőség |year=2007 |url=https://hu.wikibooks.org/wiki/F%C3%A1jl:Garai_Mikl%C3%B3s.jpg |language=hu))</ref> The arms of the towns of [[Sanok]] in Poland and [[Pruzhany]] in Belarus also feature the symbol, honoring the marriage of [[Bona Sforza]] to [[Sigismund I of Poland]] while both towns were part of [[Polish–Lithuanian union|Poland–Lithuania]].

The band [[Lacuna Coil]] used a ''biscione'' for the ''[[Black Anima]]'' album cover artwork<ref name="Tilkin 2019">((cite web |first=Laureline |last=Tilkin |year=2019 |title=Interview with Lacuna Coil – "It's important to know who you are and where you come from" – Tuonela Magazine |website=Tuonela Magazine – Finnish Metal Magazine Based in Helsinki |url=http://tuonelamagazine.com/interview-with-lacuna-coil-its-important-to-know-who-you-are-and-where-you-come-from/ |access-date=2020-05-24))</ref> and limited edition tarot cards.

==Similar symbols==
Comparable to the ''biscione'' are some depictions of the Hindu deity [[Matsya]]. While his form is referred to as anthropomorphically having a humanoid upper half, and his lower half as that of a fish, some depictions show him with his upper body emerging from the mouth of a fish. In early Christian art of the [[catacombs]], the [[Old Testament]] prophet [[Jonah]] is depicted as a man being swallowed by a serpent-like [[Leviathan]], a sea creature of Hebrew myth.

==Coats of arms, flags and symbols bearing the ''biscione''==
<gallery>
File:Blason famille it Visconti2.svg|The early arms of the [[Duchy of Milan]] under the House of Visconti. The coronet on the snake distinguishes this variant from the plain arms of the Visconti family.
File:Coat of arms of the House of Sforza.svg|The coat of arms of the [[House of Sforza]], featuring two ''biscioni'' and two ''[[Reichsadler]]''s ([[Eagle (heraldry)#Imperial Eagle|Imperial Eagles]] symbolizing the [[Holy Roman Empire|German]] and [[Austrian Empire|Austrian]] domination over [[Lombardy]])
File:Flag of the Duchy of Milan (1450).svg|The [[Flag of Milan|flag]] of the Duchy of Milan, also featuring two ''biscioni'' and two Imperial Eagles
File:Milano - Castello sforzesco - Stemma Galeazzo Maria Dux Mediolani quintus - Foto G. Dall'Orto - 6-jan-2007.jpg|A variation of the previous: the arms of [[Galeazzo Maria Sforza]], as inside the [[Sforza Castle]]
File:Bona Sforza's seal.png|[[Bona Sforza]]'s seal, bearing similarities to the other Sforza symbols
File:Wernigeroder Wappenbuch 060.jpg|Coat of arms of the Sforza and [[Caravaggio, Lombardy|Caravaggio]] houses, as in the [[German language|German-language]] book ''[[Wernigerode Armorial|Wernigeroder (Schaffhausensches) Wappenbuch]]''
File:Blason Louis VII de Rohan.svg|The [[blason]] of the [[Duchy of Montbazon]]
File:CoA.VescovoVisconti.png|The arms of Ortensio Visconti, [[Bishopric of Lodi|Bishop of Lodi]]
File:Coat of Arms of the Kingdom of Italy (1805-1814).svg|The coat of arms of [[Napoleon]]'s [[Kingdom of Italy (Napoleonic)|Kingdom of Italy]], including many symbols of Italian cities and the Imperial Eagle
File:Coat of arms of the Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia.svg|The coat of arms of the [[Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia]] (an [[Austrian Empire|Austrian]] crown land) quartered the ''biscione'' with the Venetian [[Lion of Saint Mark]].
File:IMG 7177 - Milano - Staz. C.le - Biscione visconteo usato come stemma di MI - Foto Giovanni Dall'Orto 18-Mar-2007.jpg|The ''biscione'' as a symbol of [[Milan]], seen here at the [[Milano Centrale railway station]]
File:POL Sanok COA.svg|The coat of arms (the flag is very similar) of [[Sanok]], bearing the ''biscione'' due to Bona Sforza
File:Coat of Arms of Pružany, Belarus.svg|The official seal of [[Pruzany]] (also featured in its flag), also bearing the ''biscione'' due to Bona
File:IMG 3734 - Milano - Stemma visconteo- sull'Arcivescovado - Foto di Giovanni Dall'Orto - 15-jan-2007.jpg|Depiction of the ''biscione'' swallowing a child, the coat of arms of the House of Visconti, on the Archbishop's palace in Piazza Duomo in Milan, Italy
File:Bellinzona.Wappen.png|The city of [[Bellinzona]], in the Swiss [[Ticino|Canton of Ticino]]
</gallery>

==See also==
* [[Flag of Milan]]
* [[Guivre]]
* [[History of Milan]]
* [[Basilisk]]
* [[Leviathan]]
* [[Ouroboros]]

==Notes==
((Notelist))

==References==
((Reflist))

==Bibliography==
* ((cite book|last=Dunlop|first=Anne|title=Painted Palaces: The Rise of Secular Art in Early Renaissance Italy|publisher=Pennsylvania State University Press|year=2009|isbn=9780271048307|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zlJKiv7SVoQC|author-link=Anne Dunlop|access-date=July 3, 2020))
* ((cite book |last=Reina |first=Gabriele |title=Le imprese araldiche dei Visconti e degli Sforza (1277-1535): Storia, storia dell'arte, repertorio |trans-title=The heraldic achievements of the Visconti and the Sforza (1277-1535): History, artistic change, and inventory |url=https://serval.unil.ch/resource/serval:BIB_A98C5DF3A7E5.P001/REF.pdf |publisher=Université de Lausanne, Faculté des lettres, Section d'histoire de l'art |location=Lausanne |year=2018 |language=it |access-date=2019-08-17 |archive-date=2021-12-31 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211231195107/https://serval.unil.ch/resource/serval:BIB_A98C5DF3A7E5.P001/REF.pdf |url-status=dead ))
* Scaricamazza, Dario (2023) (in Italian), [https://www.academia.edu/101176726/Il_Biscione_dei_Visconti_La_Lipsanoteca_di_Brescia_e_linvenzione_araldica ''Il Biscione dei Visconti. La Lipsanoteca di Brescia e l'invenzione araldica'', Milano, Preprint.]

==External links==
((Commons category|Coats of arms of the House of Visconti))

((Visconti of Milan))

((Heraldic creatures))

[[Category:Heraldic beasts]]
[[Category:Legendary serpents]]
[[Category:House of Visconti|*]]
[[Category:House of Sforza|*]]
[[Category:History of Milan]]
[[Category:Culture in Milan]]
[[Category:Italian legendary creatures]]
[[Category:Fictional snakes]]
[[Category:Snakes in art]]
[[Category:Italian heraldry]]


((Heraldry-stub))
((Legendary-creature-stub))

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