I have often said that "You can find heraldry everywhere," and my travels, both local and further away, still confirm that.
Nearing the end of my trip to Massachusetts last year, "visiting relatives, both living and dead," I found myself facing a commercial van with a heraldic flag on its rear door.
A few minutes of research upon arriving back home, and I learn that this is the heraldic banner (a flag of the coat of arms) of Sicily.
The arms of Sicily are blazoned, in Italian: Trinciato di rosso e d'oro alla triscele di carnagione, con il gorgoneion e le spighe al naturale.
My attempt at a blazon in English is: Per bend gules and or a triskelion of legs surmounted by a Medusa’s face wreathed in ears of wheat all proper.
I had already known that there was a large Italian presence in the state; my father grew up in Milford hearing a lot of Italian being spoken, and a lot (as much as half, perhaps, though I haven't actually counted them) on the World War II Memorial listing the names of all the men from Milford who served in that war were of Italian origin.
Still, it was unexpected to see the arms of Sicily right there over the hood of my rental car! But again, "You can find heraldry everywhere!"
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