Monday, March 28, 2011

Heraldry in Florence, Part Twenty-Five

The offering for today is a series of arms set into roundels in the exterior of a church in the heart of Florence. Some are simply painted (and weathered!). Others look like they have been done in ceramic. All of them are beautifully done.

da Calamaria: Or a ram clymant sable [one armorial states that the ram is charged on the shoulder with an inescutcheon of argent a cross sable].

Agolanti: Gules an eagle displayed or.

I am not certain of the identity of these arms. The canting arms of Portinari are: Or a door between two lions combattant sable, but the arms here do not match that blazon. The field here seems to be argent; the door is argent set in a stone frame that I think is gules (red).

The paint is faded and thus the tinctures are trickier to identify. It may be Del Rosso: Vairy argent and gules, or Marchi: Vairy sable and argent.

Florence (Commune): Per pale gules and argent. (This coat is also seen as the reverse, Per pale argent and gules.)
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6 comments:

  1. Fleur-de-LisMarch 29, 2011 at 7:16 AM

    That first Della Robbia medallion is truly amazing with the almond-shaped shield!
    Thanks for sharing all these unique examples.

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  2. David B. AppletonMarch 29, 2011 at 5:10 PM

    You are very welcome! There is just so much really great heraldry, and great depictions of heraldry, in Florence. I really want to go back there!

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  3. David B. AppletonJanuary 10, 2015 at 9:11 AM

    Correspondence Jane G. has pointed out to me that these arms are not the arms of families, but guild crests. From top to bottom: 1.Guild of Butchers, Poulterers, and Fishmongers; 2. Wool Merchants; 3. Silk Merchants; 4. Vair Preparers and Furriers; and 5. Linen-weavers and Peddlers.

    Thank you, Jane, for clearing up the identification of these arms!

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  4. David B. AppletonJanuary 10, 2015 at 9:13 AM

    (That first word should, of course, be "Correspondent." Apparently I am _way_ too used to typing the word "correspondence" in my job as a legal secretary, so much so that it's automatic even when I'm trying to type a different, but similar, word.)

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  5. SapphireApril 9, 2022 at 9:05 AM

    Hi, I am interested in the above coat of arms with the door with 2 angels either side. Could you tell me where this piece is? I am wondering if it is in fact a Portinari coat of arm, as although the Portinaris may have come from Portico, and hence the name, I have also been told the name means 'The gates of heaven' which if broken down to 'Door in the air it would be , 'Porta in aria' which sounds right. Portinari is my Grandmother's Family name, so would very much like to get to the bottom of it 😊 Thanks for any help or light on this.

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  6. AnonymousOctober 3, 2022 at 8:37 AM

    I am a Portinari born in London.

    ReplyDelete

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