Coat of Arms & Family Crest Details
J. B. Rietstap, Armorial Général, Gouda: G. B. van Goor Zonen, 1884–87
Blazon (the actual original written record)“Fascé d'or et d'arg. de quatre pièces.”
A record of documented arms, meaning and origin, researched for the Santandrea family of Italy.
J. B. Rietstap, Armorial Général, Gouda: G. B. van Goor Zonen, 1884–87
Blazon (the actual original written record)“Fascé d'or et d'arg. de quatre pièces.”
The Santandrea arms were recorded in Italy, c. 1775.
Arms such as these were typically recorded in Venice.
Venice ran on trade, and its great families were merchants before they were anything else. The city kept a formal list of its noble houses, and a name on that list carried arms as a matter of record.
This is where the arms were entered in the register. Families often moved to other parts of the country, so the same name can turn up in more than one region.
In the Italian states, coats of arms were often used by noble families to show their status and history. These symbols were passed down through the generations to all legitimate male descendants. Younger branches of a family usually kept the original design but sometimes added small changes to distinguish their specific line from the main branch.
The family name Santandrea is deeply rooted in the cultural and social landscape of Northern Italy, with documented evidence placing the family in Venice by 1775. During this period, Venice was a bustling center of trade and maritime activity, and families bearing this name were often integrated into the city’s complex administrative and commercial networks. The name itself is derived from the Italian words for Saint Andrew, suggesting that the family may have originally been associated with a local parish or a specific religious devotion common in the Venetian Republic. As residents of such a prominent city, early members of the Santandrea family likely participated in the vibrant artisan or merchant guilds that defined Venetian life before the fall of the Republic. Their presence in official records from the late eighteenth century highlights a history of stability and civic engagement within one of Europe’s most influential historical hubs.
Holy man or saint named Andrew meaning manly or brave.
