GONFALONE. – It derives from the Old German Gundfano, equivalent to Kriegsfalme, that is, war flag. In current usage it has the same meaning as stendardo. Used in the Middle Ages as a religious emblem and as a military banner, it was carried at the head of processions and borne aloft by military companies. Villani relates that in Florence, in 1257, the capitano del popolo handed over 20 g. to the corporals of the companies.
In the second half of the 13th century, very numerous companies of penitents gathered under the insignia of a g. In Rome, as early as the 14th century, there was the Confraternita del g. In the Veneto it was customary to place a stendardo or g. in the squares as an ornament. Numerous ancient g. that were painted or embroidered have survived to the present day, some made on the occasion of particular events or to obtain special graces. There are many in Umbria. In Perugia, for example, there is one by Berto di Giovanni in the Duomo, another by Perugino in the Pinacoteca, and another by Bonfigli at S. Maria Nuova and S. Bernardino. In these g., the Virgin is represented at the center, sheltering the city’s inhabitants beneath her ample mantle from the darts of the plague hurled by Christ; at the sides are the patron saints. The iconography is new in the g. by Niccolò Alunno for the city of Assisi (Priesterhaus di Kevelaer): the Virgin is represented on one side as intercessor, and for the first time, in place of the kneeling devotees, there appears a vision of the entire city. Also interesting is the g. in the Pinacoteca of Città di Castello, painted by Timoteo Vite and Raffaello. There are numerous g. from the sixteenth century and the Baroque period, as well as modern ones, still used as banners of confraternities or religious associations, some embroidered with exceptional richness. – Vedi tav. LXIII.
Serena Madonna Setti