Biscione

Lore & Background

Etymologically, the word biscione is a masculine augmentative of Italian feminine biscia "grass snake" (corrupted from bistia, ultimately from Latin bestia "beast"). The charge became associated with the city after the Visconti family gained control over Milan in 1277; Bonvesin da la Riva records it in his De magnalibus urbis Mediolani as a Visconti symbol no later than the end of the 13th century. The symbol may have been derived from a bronzed serpent brought to Milan from Constantinople by Arnolf II of Arsago (Archbishop of Milan 998–1018) in the 11th century. One of the oldest depictions of the biscione is in the Great Hall of the Visconti Castle of Angera, painted at the end of the 13th century with frescoes celebrating 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. The biscione remained associated with the Duchy of Milan even after the Visconti line died out in the 15th century. The House of Sforza incorporated the symbol into their armorial after taking the duchy.

In Their Own Story

The stadium lights hummed with a low, electric tension over the empty expanse of San Siro. Marco ran his thumb over the raised embroidery of his vintage scarf, feeling the rough, tactile texture of the serpent where it twisted around itself. He could almost hear his grandfather's gravelly voice recounting how the Biscione didn't just trap its enemies—it swallowed them whole. But now, in the silence, it was just him and the ghost of history standing beneath the shadow of the goalposts. The blue and black stripes seemed to pulse under the floodlights, a heartbeat syncing with his own. He pulled the scarf tight around his neck until the fabric bit into his skin. The serpent faced forward, mouth agape, ready for war.

Reader's Guide

As a symbol of Milan, the biscione is used by multiple organizations associated with or based in the city. The logo of automobile manufacturer Alfa Romeo (also known as the Casa del Biscione), established in Milan in 1910, features the flag of Milan and the biscione as the city's symbol. The biscione is also depicted in the logo of Milanese espresso machine manufacturer Bezzera. 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. The late Italian media mogul and former Prime Minister of Italy Silvio Berlusconi, who was born and raised in Milan, used 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 also use biscione-inspired imagery. Outside Milan, a similar design is found in the seals of the Hungarian nobleman Nicholas I Garai, palatine to the King of Hungary (1375–1385), where the crowned snake devours a sovereign's orb, rather than a human. 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 Poland–Lithuania.

Did You Know?

• The biscione is a divine serpent with a child in its mouth, not a dragon.
• The figure in the serpent's jaws is a child, not a Saracen, Moor, or enemy of the state.
• The biscione appears in the logo of Alfa Romeo, Bezzera, and Inter Milan.