Identify THIS laurel wreath

October 8, 2009 3:42 PM

Can anyone identify this symbol? Italian Resistance, perhaps?

A friend was recently killed in a bicycle accident. We are making a memorial for him at the site of his death. This is the tattoo he had on his wrist; it is a defining part of who he was and so we want it to be included on the memorial. From what we understand this is a laurel wreath symbol for the Italian Resistance but none of us have been able to find out for sure what this symbol is.
We have contacted the tattoo artist but he has not returned our calls and yes I can draw the symbol myself from this picture, but it would be nicer if we had the actual symbol.
So if anyone has any idea what this is please let us know. I wish he could just come and tell us..maybe he will, RIP John.

posted by bdoop21 to society & culture (10 comments total)

It looks like an olive branch.
posted by subtle-t at 3:47 PM on October 8

It also looks very similar to the Fred Perry logo.
posted by subtle-t at 3:50 PM on October 8

I thought it might be the Fred Perry logo, too, but the leaves seem to be shaped a a little differently, and there's the second wreath or loop inside.
posted by scody at 3:53 PM on October 8

To me, that wreath (not the inner circle) is associated with SPQR. Google image search. Having trouble, though, figuring out where that came from.
posted by sbutler at 5:17 PM on October 8

Is it bike related? Similar designs are very common on older road bike handlebars, among other things. See for instance.
posted by tallus at 8:56 PM on October 8

It reminds me a lot of the UN logo.
posted by chicago2penn at 8:59 PM on October 8

I'm sorry for your loss.

You might try sending an inquiry to the Italian Cultural Institute (link goes to Chicago's, but they're in many cities), and posting your question at bikeforums.net.
posted by hydrophonic at 9:32 PM on October 8

It looks like a stylization the cog-laurel-oak of the Italian coat of arms (also), to me at least. I'm trying to find if any partisan groups used this as an emblem but I'm not making much headway yet. I'm going to keep looking, though, and hopefully I'll have more luck in the morning with library access (or by then somebody will have answered definitively, or you'll have heard back from the artist).

I'm so sorry for your loss, and good luck in the search.
posted by The Bridge on the River Kai Ryssdal at 12:07 AM on October 9

Thank you all for responding. Maybe the tattoo is a composite, my boyfriend seems to remember John telling him that now that we are racking our brains about it.
John was from Cleveland and had the most Cleveland pride I have ever witnessed so I wonder if the inner circle could have been something to with Cleveland....not sure.
I wrote to the Italian Cultural Institute and will let you know what they say.
I hope the tattoo artist gets back to us, but he was John's close friend and is not handling his death well, not that any of us are....anyway thanks for posting.
posted by bdoop21 at 10:59 AM on October 9

The italian republic coat of arms has an olive branch (not laurel), and an oak branch. (plus a cog and the star). You can download an EPS here.
posted by _dario at 9:53 PM on October 9