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)“D'arg. à trois bandes brét. de gu.; au chef d'azur, ch. de trois roses d'or.”
A record of documented arms, meaning and origin, researched for the Senatore family of Italy.
J. B. Rietstap, Armorial Général, Gouda: G. B. van Goor Zonen, 1884–87
Blazon (the actual original written record)“D'arg. à trois bandes brét. de gu.; au chef d'azur, ch. de trois roses d'or.”

The Senatore arms were recorded in Venice, c. 1775.
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 surname Senatore originates from the Italian word for senator, which historically identified individuals who held positions of civic authority or served within a governing council. By the late eighteenth century, records confirm that families bearing this name were well-established in the city of Venice. During this period, Venice functioned as a major hub for trade and administration, and those carrying the title often occupied roles related to local governance or legal oversight. The name likely began as a descriptive term for a person of status or a public official before it eventually became a permanent hereditary surname passed down through generations. As the family grew in Venice during the 1770s, they became part of the complex social fabric of a city defined by its long history of republican politics and maritime influence.
A member of a senate or a council of elders.
