ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2891
http://www.s-gabriel.org/2891
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28 Jun 2004
From: Aryanhwy merch Catmael 

Greetings from the Academy of S. Gabriel!

You wanted to know how your current arms, "Argent, a strawberry
proper and a chief gules", could be modified so that they were
authentic for an Italian woman living in Bologna or Genoa in
the 16th century.  Here is the information we have found.

While we did not find any examples of strawberries in Italian
arms, we found examples of many other plants.  In one study of
arms of Italian nobles (most of which date from before 1600)
we found examples of roses, trefoils, ranunculas, flowering hemp, 
heads of garlic, trees, oak trees, palm trees, thistles, house 
plants, grassy knolls, olive branches, pear branches, grapes, 
and cherry trees. [1]  Examples of specific types of fruits and
vegetables are also fairly common.  The following list shows some
of the examples that we found; we have given the English name of
the charge, the Italian name of the charge in parentheses, and the
name of the family that bore the arms: [3]

  a turnip (rapa), de Arsago, de Filago, de Ravizis
  an artichoke (carciofo), di agosti. 
  pinecones (pigne), di Arecalchi
  balsam vine (vite balsamina), de Balzamo
  heather (brugh), di Burgaci
  quince (mela cotogna), de Codogniola
  green grapevines with red fruit, di Cadamosti
  green grapevines with blue fruit, de Dairago, di Gallarte
  green grapevines with purple fruit, di Vidi
  green grapevines with purplish-black fruit, da Vigo
  a bean plant (fagioli), di Fasoli, de Reginafasolis
  squash (zucca), de Lomeno
  blackberry bush (rovo), de Mornata, da Trecha
  branch of chestnuts, de Merato
  leeks (pori), de Poris
  pears, di Parabove
  bunches of white and blue grapes, de Rozis
  braid of garlic, de Restis
  unidentified root vegetable (raperonzolo), de Ranmporzoris
  an apple (mela), da Spalis
  zucchini?, da Zuconi, Zucca da pesca

There are two things we can note about this list.  One is that 
virtually all of these plants were depicted in their proper
(natural) coloring, so a strawberry proper is a fine extrapolation.
The second is that many of the charges appear to have been chosing
for canting (punning on the surname) purposes.  The Italian word
for 'strawberry' is <Fragola>.  We have not found any Italian
surnames based on this word, but if one existed, then we would be
unsurprised to see a person with this surname bearing strawberries
on their arms.

A single-tinctured chief is fine for Italian heraldry; we found many 
examples. [2]

We hope that this letter has been useful to you and that you won't
hesitate to write us again if any part was unclear or if you have
further questions.  Research and commentary on this letter was
provided by Talan Gwynek, Arval Benicoeur, Adelaide de Beaumont,
Juliana de Luna, and Maridonna Benvenuti.

For the Academy,
-Aryanhwy merch Catmael, 28Jun2004

--
References:

[1] Blasonario piemontese (WWW: CGGP, 1994-2004), A page, C page
http://www.bellinzona.org/araldica/Blasonario-piemontese-a.htm

[2] Borgia, L., et. al., eds., _Le Biccherne : tavole dipinte delle 
magistrature senesi (secoli XIII-XVIII)_ (Roma : Ministero per i beni 
culturali e ambientali, 1984).  

[3] Stemmario Trivulziano, a cura di Carlo Maspoli, Casa Editrice 
Niccol Orsini De Marzo, Milano, 2000, pp. 564, rilegato in tela, ISBN
88-900452-0-5.