Alfa Romeo car sign. Alfa Romeo model range

Everyone has it automobile concern has its own personal logo. One such famous symbol is the Alfa Romeo badge. What this symbol means and where it came from is not known to everyone, although its history is very interesting and goes back to the distant eleventh millennium AD.

How did the Alfa Romeo emblem come about?

The logo of the automobile concern appeared in the nineteenth century. Then the Italian company was called simply Alpha and needed a special, unique sign. Reflecting on it, one of the creators drew attention to the red cross of the symbol of the municipality of Milan in combination with the family symbol of one of the most famous Italian families.

The future coat of arms had two main tasks:

1. Display the greatness of the concern;
2. Instill strength and power.

The two coats of arms found combined exactly what was needed. As a result, both of them were placed in a blue circle, which was the first Alpha emblem.

A short time later, the plant was acquired by an entrepreneur named Romeo. By the decision of this person, the company acquired the second part of its name, which was reflected in the updated logo.

Throughout the entire period of its existence, the logo has changed many times and been modified with various elements, but its basis still remains unchanged.

In this video, Michael Paterson will show one of the most premium Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio models worth 80 thousand dollars:

What do the icon symbols mean?

The young company was looking for a coat of arms that would combine strength and greatness.

1. Flag of Milan includes red cross on white background. First of all, it symbolizes power and enterprise. These kinds of elements contribute to the brand’s special global success;
2. Coat of arms of Visconti- this is a big green snake that devours a person. The meaning of the coat of arms is to instill fear in enemies and a harbinger of an imminent victory over them.

In addition, the original Alfa Romeo badges retained the inscription “Milano” at the bottom of the circle, as a reference to the location of the plant.

As a result, today there is no word on the lower rim of the symbol, which was done for reasons of equal respect for all manufacturers famous brand, regardless of their location.

History of automobile production

At first, production was located far from Milan. In Naples in 1906, the Frenchman Alexandre Darrac opened a representative office of the capital's French enterprise for the production of cars that were significantly superior to other brands in terms of technical specifications engine.

Later, on the basis of SAID, an assembly plant was formed passenger cars, which was named ALFA. Then, in 1910, production was moved to a small town near Milan.

After the company was headed by Nicola Romeo, the name changed to Alfa Romeo. The company has always distinguished itself by producing cars with high driving performance.

From the early years of their formation, Alfa Romeo cars took part in various car races, which perfectly confirmed their reliability and speed.

Alfa Romeo cars

During its existence, the company produced various cars:

• The first model who rightfully deserves to bear the name Alpha was 24 HP. Its real advantage was that it was capable of reaching speeds of 100 km/h, which was a real achievement at the beginning of the nineteenth century;
• Under the well-known Alfa Romeo brand, the first car was created in 1920, which was called Torpedo 20-30HP;
• It was then created Alfa RomeoR.L.. It became the leading brand of the manufacturing plant and was considered a mini Rolls-Royce. They produced it for seven years and produced just over two and a half thousand copies;
• Next, the P2 racing car was designed and produced, which was one of the first to win the world championship;
• In 1927, the development and production of diesel and aircraft engines began, and the company also began to work closely on trucks;
• Since 1932, many service centers and sales offices throughout Europe;
• During World War II the company suffered significant damage. Many production facilities were reduced to ruins, and it took time to revive production. However, by 1947 a new champion racing car had been produced, symbolizing the restoration of Alfa Romeo;
• In the 50s, the company mass-produced its production and released a car that combines passenger comfort and sporting qualities;
• By 1960, the company was already represented on such continents as South America and Africa.

Since then, the company almost every year presents its connoisseurs with a new brand of cars, the distinctive feature of each of which is both technical equipment and appearance.

The meaning of the Milano and Visconti symbols

The Alfa Romeo badge combines two coats of arms, which, according to legend, go back to the eleventh millennium. These symbols belonged to two famous Italian families who paid for the First Crusade:

1. It is generally accepted that the clergyman gave the army a banner with the image of a serpent, thereby blessing his soldiers. The campaign was successful, after which the defeated Saracen was added to the coat of arms, which indicated an unconditional victory. This coat of arms belonged to the first family;
2. The second family made their family sign a red cross, which symbolized itself crusade. The background reflected the color of the vests that the warriors wore over their armor, indicating their noble origin.

However, after a while, the two families united, resulting in the formation of the Visconti family dynasty. The coat of arms was also combined from the previous two parts. As a confirmation of good relations with the king, the supreme leader of Italy allowed the addition of a crown over the head of a serpent to the combined symbol.

Cars of this brand have never lost the trust of customers. The auto giant coped well with the complex challenges facing the production of racing cars and with customer preferences in terms of comfort and passenger capacity.

Now you know what symbols the Alfa Romeo badge includes, what it means and how it has been refined over the years.

Video: the history of the founding of the Alfa Romeo brand

In this video, historian Mark Jason will tell you how the first Alfa Romeo models appeared and how the company developed:

Apparently, the special climatic conditions of the Mediterranean and the stunning landscapes of the coastal strip of the Apennine Peninsula have the most positive influence on the awakening of extraordinary artistic abilities and an original aesthetic perception of the world among many Italians. As you know, this phenomenon applies not only to cars. We can observe an absolutely similar picture of the overwhelming advantage of Italian fashion designers over their competitors in the development and creation of new samples of clothing, shoes or furniture. Everything that concerns appearance Italians make a variety of things and objects a little better, a little more elegant, a little more refined than representatives of other countries. Maserati, Ferrari, Bugatti, Lamborghini - these legendary names caress the ear and make the heart of every car enthusiast beat faster. But even in such a high-profile series, the name Alfa Romeo is not only not lost, but also firmly occupies its own place of honor. Simply because it was this brand that was the first to elevate the process of shaping the external appearance of a car to the rank of a real art and the first to give the common man the opportunity to purchase an “almost sports legend” at the price of an ordinary production car. The date of birth of the brand is considered to be 1908, when a fairly large and modern enterprise for assembling the French Darracq model began its activities near Milan, which, however, did not have commercial success. Therefore, in 1910, Italian investors, on the existing industrial base, organized a completely new company with the abbreviated name ALFA and launched production of the first own model with the index 24НР - a large and durable car. And just a year later, the plant produced the first racing model, the 15HP Corsa. It was she who gave the start to all subsequent famous sports cars of the brand. The first World War. The savior of the brand was a major businessman from Naples, Nicolas Romeo, who bought the plant and established the production of aircraft engines, power plants and other military equipment at the production facilities. Firstly, it allowed the brand to survive difficult years, and secondly, it added the beautiful addition “Romeo” to the name. The company began reproducing pre-war cars in 1919. The golden age of Alfa Romeo began in the mid-20s of the last century and lasted, with some downs and bright ups, for almost 50 years. It was during these years that the brand gained popularity and recognition throughout the world. This is interesting:

1. 1. In the 30s of the last century, the Alfa Romeo racing team was led by none other than the famous Enzo Ferrari. Especially for this purpose, in 1929 he organized a sports society called Scuderia. True, Enzo never achieved any special victories as part of the Alfa Romeo team.
2. 2. In the history of automobile racing, the name Alfa Romeo is inscribed in golden letters for two outstanding achievements: victory in the first official world championship in the Grand Prix series among car manufacturers in 1925 and victory in the first Formula 1 championship (the so-called Royal Races). ) in 1950.
3. 3. During the golden time for the Alfa Romeo brand - the fifties of the last century - the company's pilots set over 60 world records using brand cars, and also won 26 world championships and 25 European racing championships.
4. 4. There is a legend that the famous American automaker Henry Ford, whenever he saw any car with the Alfa Romeo logo, respectfully took off his hat every time, expressing his admiration and respect for the Italian brand.
5. 5. The owner of one of the Alfa Romeo models - the Giulietta Spider - was the 35th President of the United States, John Kennedy.

Alfa Romeo emblem

Logo car brand Alfa-Romeo was designed by artist Romano Cattaneo in 1910. It consists of two parts - a red cross and a snake with a crown. The idea of ​​using a red cross came to Romano after he saw the flag of Milan at one of the stations - a large red cross on a white background. The snake is the emblem of the House of Viscontia; it swallows a person, which symbolizes victory over enemies.

Initially, the logo also included the abbreviation “Alfa” - Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili and “Milano” - the city where the aristocrat Cavalier Hugo Stella founded his company.

From 1925 to 1981, the logo was framed by a laurel wreath, which symbolized victory in the first World Championship.

In 1972, the word “Milano” was removed from the logo, as a new factory was opened in Naples and the cars were no longer just “Milanese”. From this year, the snake became more symbolic - the skin texture was removed, only the shape and color remained, and the little man in its mouth became blood red. Over time, the logo was simplified - patterns in the form of knots, loops and curved lines were also removed.

In 1910, a draftsman named Romano Cattaneo was asked to design and create a badge emblem for the new Milan-based company ALPHA. History confirms that Cattaneo had a lucky intuition. In the heart of historic Milan, while waiting for a tram in Piazza Castello, he was inspired by the sight of the Red Cross on the coat of arms of the municipality of Milan and the famous "Biscione" emblem: the coat of arms of the Visconti dynasty - a snake devouring a man - decorating the gates of the Sforzesco castle. These two Italian symbols, united by the artist in a blue circle, became the artistic image of the emerging ALFA.

In 1915, after the company was bought by Nicola Romeo, the badge was redesigned by Giuseppe Merosi, and now included the name of the city of Milan and the former symbols from the Visconti family in a circular motif, bordered by a dark blue metal ring containing two inscriptions: "ALFA - ROMEO" and "MILANO", separated by two symbolic nodes of the Royal House of Savoy (Savoy) of Italy.

Following the P2's victory in the Automobile World Championship in 1925, Alpha added a stylized laurel wreath design around the emblem.

In 1946, after the victory of the Italian Republic, the Savoy knots were replaced by two seductive lines. The city name "MILANO", the hyphen between Alfa and Romeo and the "knots" of Savoy, replaced by simple lines, were removed from the appearance of the emblem when Alfa Romeo opened a factory in Pomigliano d'Arco, Naples at the beginning 1970s.