Is there a Seghieri family crest in Pescia? It seems to me there is

It’s pleasant to feel a sense of belonging, of having roots, and that’s one of my favorite aspects of living in Montecarlo. I am constantly being reminded that my dad’s ancestors were from this area—and recently I made another surprising discovery: I found what I am almost certain is another Seghieri family crest.

We stopped by to visit cousin Grazia in the morning and then to see Enrico and Enza in the afternoon, though unfortunately Enrico was not home. Between those two social calls, we went to the centro storico of Pescia to enjoy some pizza and gelato and just appreciate the ambiance of one of the cities where my grandfather Michele Spadoni and great grandmother Maria Marchi were born.

Palazzo del Vicario in Pescia

We walked past the Palazzo del Vicario, the central office of the municipality, an attractive ancient building. I had been there before to request birth certificates for some ancestors, but I never took time to admire the building’s interesting exterior. It is covered with stemme, crests of wealthy or noble families placed on the walls around the year 1600. Certain that my branch of the Spadoni family was not wealthy or noble and had no true family crest, I had zero expectation of seeing something I would recognize. I did find a crest on the side of the building facing Piazzi Mazzini that has two crossed swords, though, which potentially could have some connection to the Spadoni name. Regretfully, I neglected to snap a photo because I figured the probability of a connection was low, and anyway I would have no way to know what family it represented.

Does this stemma in Pescia look like the
Seghieri family crest in Montecarlo?

Then we walked to the side of the building facing the street, and wow! Doesn’t that one up there look a lot like the Seghieri crest found in Montecarlo? Lucy agreed, yes, it does. I took a photo and compared it to a photo I already had of the crest that is above the door of the former Seghieri house near the Porta Fiorentina in Montecarlo. They are not 100 percent identical, but very close. There is a lion—a symbol of strength—with a saw crossing it diagonally. The crest in Pescia is older and more worn than the one in Montecarlo, so the saw teeth in the former are barely visible because of weathering. The lion’s tail is positioned differently, and there is some other unknown symbol in the upper right of the Pescia crest. Could that be the tail? It seems out of place and unattached, but perhaps so.

I knew that the noble branch of the Seghieri family had ties to Altopascio and Montecarlo, but this is the first indication that a branch of the family also resided in Pescia—or at the very least contributed to the construction of this palazzo.

The Seghieri-Bizzarri stemma in Montecarlo.

We went into the building to see if someone had a key that would identify the various crests. We were directed to the city cultural office in Piazza Mazzini. The gentleman there said he was not aware of any key to identify the crests, nor did he know anyone who might have more information. I asked him if I could have his email address in the event I had any further questions. At least I could send him photos of the crest in Montecarlo in case he found someone interested in identifying the crests. Really, I find it hard to believe that there is not a history buff around who has already tried to do this, and if there is, perhaps he or she would be interested in my observations. The official gave me his address, and then I asked also for his name, which gave me another sense of connectedness. He is Luigi del Tredici—almost certainly another distant cousin. My great great grandmother—the mother of Torello Seghieri—is Maria del Tredici. I will mention that to Luigi when I send him photos of the two crests later.