Many
acknowledge that an automobile's badge is a very important
symbol. It's far more than just a brand logo, or a nice
piece of bodywork addenda. Car manufacturer's badges, or
logos, other than looking aesthetically pleasing, often tell
something of the company's origins and history. If you look
at the famous, near century old, Alfa Romeo badge, you will
see an instantly recognisable design which encompasses
crosses and crowns and a rather large man eating serpent!
But what does it all signify ...and how did it come about,
that the company chose to use such a design?
The Alfa Romeo badge is derived from the coat of arms of the
city of Milano - where the company was founded some 90 plus
years ago ...and where its headquarters still remain today.
The emblem is bordered by a blue circle, and split
vertically into two halves, with a red cross on the left,
and a man eating serpent on the right! These aforementioned
two halves are generally believed to have been the symbols
of the two ruling families of medieval Milan as adopted by
them in the eleventh century.
Both
families are thought to have financed armies in the First
Crusade, and the ruling Archbishop at the time is reported
to have given one of the armies a banner depicting a large
serpent. Said to be of biblical origin, was supposed to
offer - when carried into the field battle - divine
protection ...and indeed the First Crusade proved rather
successful! So upon returning to their homeland, a poor
defeated Saracen was added to the serpent's mouth as a
symbol of victory! The other army, not to be entirely
outdone, adopted the crusader's famous red cross on a white
background ...the white background signifying the white
vests crusaders wore to both deflect the sun rays and
portray their noble sanctity.
In or around the fifteenth century, the two aforementioned
families joined forces (and flags) to form the powerful
Visconti ducal dynasty. To signify their royal consent of
this merger, the Dukes of Austria - who were ruling Italy at
the time - approved the placement of a crown upon the
serpent's head. Even after the power of the Visconti faded,
the crowned snake and red cross remained as the symbol of
the city.
The first ALFA badge (used between the years
of 1910 - 1915) consisted of these two Milanese family
symbols i.e. the Visconti serpent, placed upon a pale blue
background, and the famous red cross contrasted on a white
background, from the Crusades.
The
fledgling "Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili" car company
were searching for an emblem to use on their first car, and
the
idea to use such famous city symbols apparently came to a
young designer from the technical office, who noticed the
serpent on the Filarete tower while he was waiting for a
tram in Piazza Castello! The company then simply chose a
blue metallic circle with the words ALFA at the top, and the
word MILANO at the bottom ...separated by two Savoy dynasty
knots. These represented the two royal families of Milan at
the time.
Nicola
Romeo acquired the financially ailiing A.L.F.A. car company,
initially it is believed, purely to gain control and
ownership of the company's Portello factory! An ambitious
man, he wanted to manufacture an array of heavy goods and
products, and thus set about greatly reorganising the
Milanese company after the first World War. By 1920, he had
added his own name to the company (and thus badge) whilst
removing the acronym style of spelling for ALFA. And when
'Alfa Romeo' won their first World Championship in 1925, a
large laurel wreath was proudly placed around the badge to
celebrate this significant success. Mercedes Benz also did
this to their radiator badge for the same celebratory reason.
Amazingly, in 1932, the French importer for Alfa Romeo
persuaded the company to use the word 'Paris' instead of' 'Milano'
on all the badges of those cars heading for that country.
These are considered great rarities today, and are much
sought after by collectors!
For a short period after WW II the multicoloured badge was
replaced by a much simpler brass casting with the letters
and figures in polished metal on a blood red enamel
background - please see an example at the top of this page.
It was further simplified when the Italian monarchy was
abolished and the country became a Republic. The Savoy
dynasty bows were exchanged for two wavy lines, and the
laurel wreath was reduced in size. At the same time the
badge diameter itself was reduced to a rather paltry 54 mm!
The coloured badge was however soon restored, first in
cloisonné (i.e. enamel ware, in which the colours of the
design are kept apart by thin metal strips) and later in
plastic. The latest changes made to this most famous of car
emblems, occurred in 1972 when a factory was opened in
Naples. Not wishing to upset the Neapolitan workforce the 'MILANO'
was quickly deleted, along with the two wavy lines, and the
hyphen between the words, ALFA and ROMEO. The poor laurel
wreath was further reduced to little more than edge filigree.
It may be interesting to note that the original 1910 badge
was 65mm in diameter ...and although the size has changed
over the years it has now settled at 75mm.
|
|
