This content was automatically translated. View the original text.
Saturn on Horseback: the Coat of Arms of the Founding God Hidden in the Walls of Sutri
In Sutri (VT) there is an image that appears everywhere: a horseman holding three ears of wheat. It is the god Saturn on horseback, chosen as the town’s coat of arms, and according to legend its founder. Walking through the village, you can see it carved on the gates, incised in marble, painted on the walls. It is a treasure hunt for those who know where to look.
The Legend of the Farmer God
The name Sutri is said to derive from the Etruscan Sutrinas, and Saturn — the Roman god of sowing and protector of harvests — is said to have been the first to reign here. Petrarch, passing through in 1337, wrote that he had seen, "not far from the walls", the field that was said to have been the first in Italy to receive wheat seeds. In the iconography, the coat of arms shows Saturn with his sword laid down, raising the ears of wheat: meaning peace and fertility over war.
Where to Find It
We can start at Porta Franceta (or Porta Vecchia), on the keystone of the arch. This is the historic entrance to the village, that used by pilgrims on the Via Francigena. A second marble coat of arms decorates a fountain in the atrium of the Town Hall, carved from a Roman sarcophagus. This was originally mounted on the Porta Morone, then moved in 1909. A third can be found in the church of Santa Maria Maddalena (St Mary Magdalene), near the cemetery.
Three Ears or Five?
In the notarial documents of the 16th century, the coat of arms was described with five ears of wheat. The three-ear version, that officially in use today, became the standard version only in the 19th century.
