The scrofa semilanuta (English: "half-woollen boar") is an ancient emblem of the city of Milan, Italy, dating back at least to the Middle Ages — and, according to a local legend, to the very foundation of Milan. Several ancient sources (including Sidonius Apollinaris, Datius, and, more recently, Andrea Alciato)[1] have argued that the scrofa semilanuta is connected to the etymology of the ancient name of Milan, "Mediolanum", and this is still occasionally mentioned in modern sources, although this interpretation has long been dismissed by scholars.[1]
The adoption of the half-woolly sow as an emblem of Milan is associated to a legend about the foundation of the city. According to this legend (which partially draws from Livy's writings), the founder of Milan was a Gaul prince named Belloveso. Belloveso reached the Po Valley following a vision he had had in a dream, where a goddess showed him the place where the city would rise. In this dream, he saw a sow with unusually long wool on the front half of its body. Other ancient sources (most notably the aforementioned Alciato, who in turns credits Ambrose for his account) report that the half-woolly sow is actually a sort of Chimera — half boar and half ram — and that the emblem came about when the Bituriges and the Aedui, having as their emblems a ram and a boar respectively, joined in the Po Valley.
The origin of the legend of scrofa semilanuta and the circumstances of its adoption as an emblem of Milan are a very controversial matter for scholars.[1] A key element of this controversy is a bas relief affixed to the walls of the Palazzo della Ragione, former broletto (administrative building) of the medieval commune of Milan. The bas relief is reportedly a medieval copy of an older one, found during the excavations when the Palazzo was built (1228–1233). It has been argued that the legend of the scrofa semilanuta, in its current form, might have come about as a consequence of that particular finding as well as the patriotic enthusiasm for the newly conquered independence of Milan as a commune, elaborating on the old legends about the etymology of "Mediolanum".[2] The bas relief itself might just represent a boar, which in turn was a very common emblem in Western Europe.[2] In any case, the "scrofa semilanuta" was thereafter adopted as the main emblem of Milan, at least until the advent of the biscione of the House of Visconti. Another (more recent) representation of the "scrofa semilanuta" is found in the internal courtyard of Palazzo Marino (Milan's city hall).
scrofa, semilanuta, scrofa, semilanuta, english, half, woollen, boar, ancient, emblem, city, milan, italy, dating, back, least, middle, ages, according, local, legend, very, foundation, milan, several, ancient, sources, including, sidonius, apollinaris, datius. The scrofa semilanuta English half woollen boar is an ancient emblem of the city of Milan Italy dating back at least to the Middle Ages and according to a local legend to the very foundation of Milan Several ancient sources including Sidonius Apollinaris Datius and more recently Andrea Alciato 1 have argued that the scrofa semilanuta is connected to the etymology of the ancient name of Milan Mediolanum and this is still occasionally mentioned in modern sources although this interpretation has long been dismissed by scholars 1 Bas relief representing the scrofa semilanuta on the walls of Palazzo della Ragione Milan The adoption of the half woolly sow as an emblem of Milan is associated to a legend about the foundation of the city According to this legend which partially draws from Livy s writings the founder of Milan was a Gaul prince named Belloveso Belloveso reached the Po Valley following a vision he had had in a dream where a goddess showed him the place where the city would rise In this dream he saw a sow with unusually long wool on the front half of its body Other ancient sources most notably the aforementioned Alciato who in turns credits Ambrose for his account report that the half woolly sow is actually a sort of Chimera half boar and half ram and that the emblem came about when the Bituriges and the Aedui having as their emblems a ram and a boar respectively joined in the Po Valley The origin of the legend of scrofa semilanuta and the circumstances of its adoption as an emblem of Milan are a very controversial matter for scholars 1 A key element of this controversy is a bas relief affixed to the walls of the Palazzo della Ragione former broletto administrative building of the medieval commune of Milan The bas relief is reportedly a medieval copy of an older one found during the excavations when the Palazzo was built 1228 1233 It has been argued that the legend of the scrofa semilanuta in its current form might have come about as a consequence of that particular finding as well as the patriotic enthusiasm for the newly conquered independence of Milan as a commune elaborating on the old legends about the etymology of Mediolanum 2 The bas relief itself might just represent a boar which in turn was a very common emblem in Western Europe 2 In any case the scrofa semilanuta was thereafter adopted as the main emblem of Milan at least until the advent of the biscione of the House of Visconti Another more recent representation of the scrofa semilanuta is found in the internal courtyard of Palazzo Marino Milan s city hall See also editSymbols of MilanReferences edit a b c Claudio Beretta Letteratura dialettale milanese Ulrico Hoepli pp 21 26 see 1 a b Scrofa semilanuta mediolanense Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Scrofa semilanuta amp oldid 1211801169, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
