This particular stemma (coat of arms) in Pistoia both fascinated and frustrated me. The latter emotion was because even my super detective on the ground in Pistoia, Miky of https://passion4food4fashion.com/ couldn’t seem to locate it again in her city. She recruited a friend and they went out determined to find the darn thing.
As I saw it last year
One day, they had a breakthrough. A boutique which was undergoing renovations, and whose facade was covered with scaffolding and protective material, was finally revealed. And, there was the mystery stemma!
On Wednesday, I finally met Miky and she took me for one of her excellent walks around the city she loves so dearly. Our last stop was at the boutique where she was able to ask the owner if he knew anything about this coat of arms. He did, indeed, much to our delight. He was not averse to a photo with the delightful Miky, whom he has known for many years.
Miky and the owner of the boutique, Signor Fagni
The coat of arms belonged to a Florentine family, by the name of Gargelli.
Thank you, Miky, for your persistence.
The Gargelli family coat of arms
Hello World 
I love a good detective story.
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Especially when the detctive solves the case, eh?
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Such sleuthing for a stemma should be recorded for posterity. You just did, Yvonne. Fantastica molto.
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Miky kept it secret from me that she had found it, so it was a wonderful surprise when she showed me.
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I’m intrigued by the meaning of this coat of arms. It’s interesting reading everyone’s theories.
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Everything was symbolism, eh?
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Hi Yvonne, The Monkey reminds me of the mural that was uncovered on the wall of Katina and Mario’s place in Galatina. I have to go through my pics to see if it’s holding anything.
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Wow! I hope you find it. You may have to post it to me on Facebook, it can’t be done on WordPress, unfortunately.
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Aren’t blogging friends wonderful! And I’m fascinated by that stemma Yvonne – an ape holding a branch perched atop 6 mounds…… If it was 7 mounds I’d go for a Roman ancestry link – but 6? I wanted a meaning for the name, but that wasn’t in the link you provided. Maybe they were early Darwinists (way before Darwin) and this was their way of saying so – and the mounds represent the days of creation before apes (and humans later) came to be……… Just theorising 🙂
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Now, that’s the kind of thinking I like, contented one. ❤
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Wow! Thanks to you both for re-finding and identifying this! So what do you think the monkey is holding?
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Now, cut that out, Jane! I’ll have to go back now and ask someone about it! It looks a bit like calla lilies, doesn’t it?
Here’s a little information about that surname: http://forebears.io/surnames/gargelli
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You know Yvonne a stemma post is like giving me a giant hug!
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Believe me when I say, whenever I see a stemma, there’s only one person I think of! I wonder if there’ll be any in Napoli? I hope so.
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Reblogged this on passion4food4fashion.
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Thank you, Miky.
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Thank YOU!!!😍❤️
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I shall refrain from suggesting a scatological interpretation of the stemma, but it bears a resemblance to the arms of Pope Alexander VII, with the six hills (or mountains). Any connection?
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Not that I’m aware of, Bert.
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The 6 hills weren’t just used by Alexander VII – they were also used by two recent popes: Paul VI and John Paul I. Paul VI used his family coat of arms as pope – and his family name was Montini, which means “little mountains”. Pope John Paul I used the mountains as a tribute to his predecessor, Paul VI. I wouldn’t know if there’s any connection with the Gargelli family – who knows, way back when, what went on after lights out!
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What are you implying, Bruce Almighty? Holy hanky-panky??
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LOL! I just wasted an hour and a half looking at bloody coats of arms – sort of got caught up in it! And became so engrossed that I let my morning coffee (it’s Saturday over here) go cold.
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Oh, no. That’s a tragedy. Make some fresh coffee, BA.
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Just have!
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Well done, Miky
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She said she and her friend went out at night because she didn’t want people she knew seeing her walk along with her nose high up in the air. 😊
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🙂
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