Believe it or not! Where does the coat of arms of the Belarusian town of Pruzhany appear on the logo of the car "Alfa Romeo"? 0 12

This symbol is known in heraldry as the biscione (from Latin bestia - "beast"). It belonged to the medieval ducal families of Visconti and Sforza, who ruled Italian Milan. In 1910, the car company "Alfa Romeo" combined the coat of arms of Milan - a cross on a white background - with the historical coat of arms featuring a serpent.

There is no definitive version of the origin of the biscione or exact dating, but as early as 1100, the Visconti coat of arms featured a blue serpent on a silver background, holding a man in its mouth. The Visconti family ruled Milan until 1450.

In 1518, Bona Sforza, a Milanese princess and great-granddaughter of Francesco I Sforza, accepted a marriage proposal from Polish King Sigismund I the Old. Eighty years later, when Bona Sforza's daughter Anna Jagiellonka (wife of Stephen Báthory) was on the royal throne, the locality of Pruzhany was freed from land dependency, granting it Magdeburg rights along with city status and a city seal. In memory of her mother, the queen bestowed upon Pruzhany the coat of arms featuring the biscione.

Thus, the emblem of "Alfa Romeo" and the coat of arms of Pruzhany share common roots.