Inter Milan & The Biscione Shirts

Inter Milan. Italian giants. Nay — global giants. One of the most recognisable football clubs on Earth. I do a deep dive #GetTheBadgeIn on the club itself elsewhere.

But in this post I wanted to look at something else. A symbol that appears all over Inter kits, third strips, marketing campaigns, and social media — despite not actually being the club badge.

The snake.

Or, more specifically, the Biscione.

To understand why a giant serpent swallowing a bloke appears across the branding of one of Europe’s biggest football clubs, we need to head back into the history of Milan itself.

And Milan has quite the history.

During the Renaissance it became one of the great city states of Italy, ruled for long periods by the Visconti and later Sforza dynasties. Sitting in the wealthy plains of northern Italy, Milan became rich through trade, banking, metalwork, and warfare, developing into both an economic and military powerhouse. It also became one of the great centres of Renaissance learning and culture, attracting figures such as Leonardo da Vinci.

When researching Milan, one family name kept appearing over and over again: the Sforzas.

So who were they?

The Sforzas were one of the great ruling families of Renaissance Italy. Originally rising through military service as powerful mercenary commanders — known as condottieri — they eventually took control of Milan during the 1400s after the decline of the Visconti family.

Under rulers such as Francesco Sforza and Ludovico Sforza, Milan became famous for its armies, architecture, and patronage of artists, scientists, and engineers.

One of those artists was, of course, Leonardo da Vinci.

It was Ludovico Sforza, often known as Ludovico il Moro, who became Leonardo’s great patron in Milan. Leonardo worked for him for around 17 years from the early 1480s onwards. During that period he painted works such as The Last Supper, designed military machines and weapons, organised festivals, worked on engineering schemes, and generally behaved like the sort of absurdly talented overachiever that makes the rest of us feel inadequate.

Under Ludovico, Milan became one of the great cultural capitals of the Renaissance.

The clearest reminder of Sforza influence in the city today is the vast Sforza Castle — Castello Sforzesco. Originally built on the site of an older Visconti fortress, it became both a military stronghold and a grand ducal palace. Leonardo himself worked on decorative and engineering projects there.

Today it still dominates central Milan, packed with museums, towers, courtyards, and artworks, including Michelangelo’s unfinished Rondanini Pietà.

So that’s the family.

What of the snake?

Well, the snake actually predates the Sforzas entirely.

The famous serpent — the Biscione — originally belonged to the Visconti family, the dynasty that ruled Milan before the Sforzas arrived. The image usually shows a giant snake or dragon swallowing a human figure, and over time it became one of the defining symbols of Milan itself.

When the Sforzas took over the city, they inherited much of the prestige and symbolism associated with the Viscontis — including the snake. As a result, the Biscione became deeply linked with Milanese identity, nobility, power, and the ruling elite of the city state. They placed it on their family coat of arms the the symbols appear all over Milan today.

Why a snake? Nobody really knows.

Some believed the Biscione came from a legend in which a Visconti knight killed a giant serpent near Milan. Others thought the figure inside the snake symbolised rebirth rather than being eaten. Historians have also linked it to ancient Roman or pagan snake symbolism, or suggested it represented the defeat of enemies during the Crusading era.

Whatever the origin, the symbol endured.

And it still appears all over modern Milan today.

Inter absolutely love using the snake motif on special kits and branding campaigns, but another place you have almost certainly seen it — probably without realising — is on the badge of Alfa Romeo.

Alfa Romeo was founded in Milan in 1910 and its badge directly reflects the city’s history. One half shows the red cross of Milan, while the other features the famous Biscione serpent of the Visconti family. Even the name “ALFA” originally stood for Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili — literally “Lombard Automobile Factory”.

The company was originally just called ALFA until engineer and businessman Nicola Romeo took control of the firm during the First World War. His surname was then added in 1920, creating the name Alfa Romeo.

So there we have it.

Inter Milan are not just carrying a fashionable modern symbol on their shirts, but one tied directly to centuries of Milanese history, warfare, dynasties, Renaissance politics, and civic pride.

The snake of Milan has survived dukes, empires, industrialisation, and the modern football marketing department.

And frankly, it still looks brilliant on a football shirt.

So there you have it – the snake of Milan has survived empires, dukes, and industrial revolutions — and today still slithers proudly across football kits and sports cars alike.