One of the most common questions about the Alfa Romeo badge has a refreshingly simple answer: the serpent in the Alfa Romeo logo is green. It’s shown as a green crowned serpent with a red human figure emerging from its mouth, set on the right-hand side of the badge beside the red cross of Milan. But the colour is only the beginning of the story.
The short answer
In the modern Alfa Romeo logo, the serpent is green, the figure it appears to be swallowing is red, and the small crown above it is gold. In some of the brand’s earliest badges the serpent sat on a paler, almost azure background, which is why older illustrations can look blue — but the serpent itself has consistently been rendered green.
What the serpent really is: the Biscione
The creature is known as the Biscione (or biscione visconteo), and it isn’t an Alfa Romeo invention at all. It’s the centuries-old heraldic emblem of the House of Visconti, the dynasty that ruled Milan from the 13th to the 15th century. When the company’s first badge was designed in 1910, the Biscione was borrowed — along with Milan’s red cross — to root the new Milanese carmaker in the city’s history.
The legend behind it
According to legend, a Visconti ancestor slew a fearsome serpent that had been terrorising Milan and took the beast as the family’s emblem. The crown above the serpent reflects the Visconti family’s later elevation to Dukes of Milan. It is a symbol of power, victory and nobility — fitting heraldry for a brand that would go on to dominate early motorsport.
The figure in the serpent’s mouth
The human figure is the most debated part of the design. Some readings describe it as a Moor or Saracen, tying the emblem to the Crusades; others interpret it as a child, with the serpent shown giving birth rather than devouring. Alfa Romeo has never settled the question definitively, and that ambiguity is part of the badge’s enduring mystique.
Why it sits beside the cross
The Biscione shares the badge with the red cross on white — the flag of Milan — so the two halves together declare the brand’s home city twice over: once through the commune’s cross, once through its most famous ruling family. For the full story of how these symbols came together and changed over time, see our guides to the meaning of the Alfa Romeo logo and how the Alfa Romeo badge evolved.
Carry the Biscione
If the serpent is your favourite part of the badge, you can wear it: explore our Scudetto emblem t-shirt and logo keychains, each carrying the green serpent and red cross of Milan.
