What Is the Alfa Romeo Logo?
The Alfa Romeo logo is a round badge split down the middle. The red cross of Milan sits on the left, and the biscione, a serpent swallowing a human figure, on the right. The words ALFA ROMEO ring the edge.
Both halves come from Milan's heraldry, and the badge has been used since 1910. Alfa Romeo is the Italian car maker founded in Milan on 24 June 1910 as A.L.F.A. It has been part of Stellantis since 2021.
The roundel is available as the Alfa Romeo logo SVG.
Alfa Romeo Logo Facts
| Designer | Romano Cattaneo, a draughtsman at A.L.F.A., working with chief engineer Giuseppe Merosi |
| Introduced | 1910; redesigned in 2015 |
| Symbol | The red cross of Milan and the Visconti serpent |
| Logo type | Emblem: symbols and name inside a circle |
| Owner | Alfa Romeo, part of Stellantis |
What the Alfa Romeo Logo Means
The badge is a portrait of Milan. Cattaneo looked for inspiration in the crests that decorate the city's Castello Sforzesco.
- The red cross on white: the emblem of the city of Milan.
- The biscione: a grass snake with a figure in its mouth, the emblem of the Visconti family, who ruled Milan in the 14th century.
The name around the edge has its own story. A.L.F.A. stood for Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili, roughly the Lombardy Automobile Factory Company.
The Neapolitan entrepreneur Nicola Romeo bought the business in August 1915, and in 1920 it became Alfa Romeo.
Alfa Romeo Logo History
The Alfa Romeo badge dates from 1910, and its core design has survived every change since. Chief engineer Giuseppe Merosi asked for a badge, and Cattaneo's design was approved by managing director Ugo Stella.
| Year | What changed |
|---|---|
| 1910 | The first badge, with ALFA and MILANO on the ring |
| 1925 | A laurel wreath is added |
| 1946 | The Savoy knots give way to two wavy lines, and the badge shrinks to 54 mm |
| 1972 | MILANO, the wavy lines and the hyphen are removed |
| 1982 | The wreath is dropped |
| 2015 | Robilant Associati redesigns the badge |
On the original ring, ALFA and MILANO were separated by the knots of the House of Savoy. The knots went in 1946, after Italy abolished its monarchy.
The 1925 wreath celebrated the P2 racing car winning the first World Manufacturers' Championship. It stayed, in changing forms, until 1982.
The 1972 change followed the factory. That year the Alfasud became the first Alfa Romeo passenger car built outside Milan. So the word MILANO, the wavy lines and the hyphen between ALFA and ROMEO were all removed.
A redesign was revealed on 24 June 2015 at the Alfa Romeo Museum, alongside the Giulia. Carried out by Robilant Associati, it cut the colours from four to three and adopted a new serif typeface. A single silver background replaced the split white and light blue fields.
Alfa Romeo and Its Stellantis Sister Brands
Alfa Romeo is one of the 14 brands of Stellantis. Stellantis was formed on 16 January 2021 by the merger of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and Groupe PSA, which made Alfa Romeo one of its brands.
That puts the Milanese roundel in the same group as the Fiat logo, the Peugeot logo and the Citroën logo.
For more brands like Alfa Romeo, browse our car logos.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the snake in the Alfa Romeo logo?
It is the biscione, the serpent emblem of the Visconti family, who ruled Milan in the 14th century.
What does the red cross on the Alfa Romeo logo mean?
It is the cross of the city of Milan, where Alfa Romeo was founded in 1910.
What does ALFA stand for?
Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili. Romeo was added in 1920, after Nicola Romeo took over the company.
When was the Alfa Romeo logo redesigned?
In 2015. Robilant Associati simplified the colours and gave the badge a single silver background.