
TUMULUS IOANNIS GA-
leacii Vicecomitis primi Ducis
Mediolani.[1]
The tomb of Gian Galeazzo Visconti, first Duke of Milan
Pro tumulo pone Italiam, pone arma ducesque,[2]
Et mare quod geminos mugit adusque sinus.
Adde his barbariem[3] conantem irrumpere frustra
Gallus uti, & Teuton alpe & hyberus aquis.[4]
Anguiger autem[5] summo sistens in culmine dicat,
Quîs parvis magnum me super imposuit?
Instead of the tomb, put Italy, put weapons and leaders, and the sea which roars right up to the twin curving coasts. Add to these the barbarian host, trying in vain to burst in, like the French, the German over the Alps and the Spanish by sea. But the one holding a snake, standing on the roof of the tomb, may well say: Who has put me, great as I am, on top of little things?
1. Gian Galeazzo Visconti (1351-1402), created first Duke of Milan in 1395. Noted for his ruthlessness, he united most of the Po valley under the rule of Milan for the first time, defeated Bologna, and set his sights on Florence until his death saved that city.
2. This epigram is based on Anthologia graeca 7.73 (by Geminos, but wrongly attributed to Germanicus in the sixteenth century). The Greek epigram is concerned with what would be a worthy tomb for the Greek hero Themistocles, who was buried in a very simple grave. It suggests one with representations of Salamis and the Persians, recalling the hero’s most famous exploit, the victory over the Persians at the battle of Salamis. Likewise, memorials of Visconti’s achievements are proposed here.
3. ‘the barbarian host’, i.e. the ‘barbarian’ French, who were induced to become involved in the Milan/Florence conflict and were defeated by Visconti. The French are mentioned specifically in the version of this poem found in Selecta epigrammata p.254, where 1.4 reads: Gallus ut et Theuton Alpe et Hyberus aquis, ‘like the Gaul and the Teuton via the Alps and the Spaniard via the sea’. In Alciato’s day, the French continued to overrun the Italian peninsula and attempt to dictate its internal affairs.
4. This line is completely changed in later editions.
5. This is presumably a figure of the Duke of Milan, whose arms included a snake; see [A31a001]. In the accompanying woodcut, we have written on a snaking ribbon held by a figure the Greek version (taken from the original Greek epigram) of the Latin words quoted in l.6.
Related Emblems

- Declaracion magistral sobre las Emblemas de Andres Alciato (1615), Najera: TUMULUS IOANNIS GALEAcii Vice comitis, primi Ducis Mediolanensis. | Open in other pane
- Emblemata (1621), Padua: Tumulus Ioannis Galeacii Vicecomitis, primi Ducis Mediolanensis. | Open in other pane
- Emblematum liber (6th April, 1531), Augsburg: TUMULUS IOANNIS GAleatii Vicecomitis primi Ducis Mediolani. | Open in other pane
- Emblematum liber (1534), Augsburg: TUMULUS IOANNIS GAleacii Vicecomitis primi Ducis Mediolani. | Open in other pane
- Emblematum libellus (1534), Paris: Tumulus Ioannis Galeacii Vicecomitis primi Ducis Mediolani. | Open in other pane
- Les Emblemes (1539), Paris: Tumulus Ioannis Galeacii Vicecomitis primi Ducis Mediolani. Au sepulchre duc Viconte Galeace. | Open in other pane
- Les Emblemes (1542), Paris: Tumulus Ioannis Galeacii Vicecomitis, primi Ducis Mediolani. Au sepulchre du Viconte Galeace. | Open in other pane
- Emblematum libellus (1542), Paris: Tumulus Ioannis Galeacii Vicecomitis, primi Ducis Mediolani. Das grab des thewern helden Johansen Galeatz, des ersten Hertzogen zu Mayland. | Open in other pane
- Los Emblemas (1549), Lyon: La sepultura de Juan Galeacio vizconde, primer duque de Milan. | Open in other pane
- Emblemata (1550), Lyon: Tumulus Ioannis Galeacii Vicecomitis, primi Ducis Mediolanensis. | Open in other pane
- Emblemata (1551), Lyon: Tumulus Ioannis Galeacii Vicecomitis, primi Ducis Mediolanensis. | Open in other pane
- Emblematum libri II (Stockhamer) (1556), Lyon: Tumulus Ioannis Galeacii Vicecomitis primi Ducis Mediolanensis. | Open in other pane
- Toutes les emblemes (1558), Lyon: Tombeau de Jean Galeace Viconte, premier Duc de Milan. | Open in other pane
- Liber emblematum ... Kunstbuch (1567), Franckfurt am Main: Tumulus Ioannis Galeatii vicecomitis, primi ducis Mediolani. An den Durchleuchtigen, Hochgebornen Fürsten und Herrn, Herrn Johannis Galeatii Viceconten und ersten Hertzogen zu Meyland. | Open in other pane
- Emblemata (1591), Leiden: Tumulus Ioannis Galeacii Vicecomitis, primi Ducis Mediolanensis. | Open in other pane
- Diverse imprese (1551), Lyon: Sepultura del signor Galeazzo. Visconte primo duca di Milano. | Open in other pane
- Livret des emblemes (1536), Paris: Tumulus Ioannis Galeacii Vicecomitis primi DucisMediolani. Au sepulchre du Viconte Galeace. | Open in other pane
- Emblemes (1549), Lyons: Tumbeau de Jan Galeace Viconte, premier Duc de Milan. | Open in other pane
- Emblemata / Les emblemes (1584), Paris: Tumulus Ioannis Galeacii Vicecomitis, primi Ducis Mediolanensis. Le tombeau du Seigneur Jean Galeas Viconte, premier Duc de Milan. | Open in other pane
- Les emblemes (1615), Geneva/Cologny: Au Sepulcre du Vicomte Galeas. | Open in other pane
Hint: You can set whether related emblems are displayed by default on the preferences page
Iconclass Keywords
Relating to the image:
Relating to the text:
- snakes [25F42] Search | Browse Iconclass
- Europeans (with NAME) [32B311(FRENCH)] Search | Browse Iconclass
- Europeans (with NAME) [32B311(GERMANS)] Search | Browse Iconclass
- Europeans (with NAME) [32B311(SPANIARDS)] Search | Browse Iconclass
- grave, tomb [42E310] Search | Browse Iconclass
- other sovereign (with TITLE) [44B114(DUKE)] Search | Browse Iconclass
- war [45A1] Search | Browse Iconclass
- defensive measures (military) [45G] Search | Browse Iconclass
- historical person (with NAME) other representations to which the NAME of a historical person may be attached (with NAME of person) [61B2(VISCONTI, Giangaleazzo [of Milan])3] Search | Browse Iconclass
- geographical names of countries, regions, mountains, rivers, etc. (names of cities and villages excepted) (with NAME) [61D(ITALY)] Search | Browse Iconclass
- names of cities and villages (with NAME) [61E(MILAN)] Search | Browse Iconclass
Hint: You can turn translations and name underlining on or off using the preferences page.