Biscione
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Biscione - Italian Serpent Symbolism strikingly similar to Quetzalcoatl in Mayan Mythology
Symbol at Berlusconi house
Quetzalcoatl depicted as a snake devouring a man, from the Codex Telleriano-Remensis.
The biscione as a symbol of Milan, seen here at the Central Station
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. (Is it really?) However it has been claimed that it was
taken from the coat of arms of a Saracen killed by Ottone Visconti during the
crusades.
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, and in a version where a flower replaces the
child, by Fininvest.