The Morelli Coat of Arms

The Morelli family was one of the most distinguished of Florence, the foremost city of Italy during medieval days. Originally the family was located in the old province of Romagna in the northeast of Italy. Traditionally  it is said to have come to Italy with Charlemagne, the great King of the Franks, during the 8th century. The family is believed to have settled in Florence early in the 15th century where it became one of the great merchant families.

The Coat-of-Arms for the family displays a red shield upon which are two golden fore-legs of a lion, crossed diagonally. In the upper part of the shield is a golden chess-piece known as a rook which is often mistaken for a coronet. Branches of the family were established in Piedmont, at Perugia and at Taranto.  In 1439 the family was honored with the title of Count Palatine by the Emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire when he attended the Council of Florence in an effort to reconcile the Roman and Greek churches; the title was later confirmed by Pope Leo X (1513-1521).

My thanks to Dennis Morelli for this wonderful information! 

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Morelli

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