Coats of arms of Spanish Monarchs in Italy

The Spanish monarchs of the House of Habsburg used separate versions of their royal arms as sovereigns of the Kingdom of Naples-Sicily and the Duchy of Milan with the arms of these territories.

The Kingdom of Sicily was ruled as an independent kingdom by relatives or cadet branch of the house of Aragon until 1409 and thence as part of the Crown of Aragon.The Kingdom of Naples was ruled by the Angevin ruler René of Anjou until the two thrones were reunited by Alfonso V of Aragon, after the successful siege of Naples and the defeat of René on June 6, 1443.^[1] Eventually, Alfonso of Aragon divided the two kingdoms during his rule. He gave the rule of Naples to his illegitimate son Ferdinand I of Naples, who ruled from 1458 to 1494, and Aragon and Sicily to Alfonso's brother John II of Aragon. Eventually the Kingdom of Naples was reunited with the Aragonese Kingdom.The titles were held by the Aragonese kings of the Catalan-Aragonese Crown until 1516, followed by the Kings of Spain until the end of the Spanish branch of the House of Habsburg in 1700.

When Francesco II Sforza, duke of Milan died without heirs in 1535, emperor Charles V got the Duchy. The Emperor held the Duchy throughout, eventually investing it on his son prince Philip. The possession of the Duchy by Spain was finally recognized by the French in the Treaty of Cateau-Cambrésis in 1559.

• The Royal Arms of Sicily after 1282 were blazoned Per saltire Aragon and Hohenstaufen: 1/4 are the arms of Aragon (Or, four pales Gules), and 2/3 are the arms of the House of Hohenstaufen (Argent, an eagle Sable).

• The Royal Arms of Naples used by the monarchs of the House of Trastámara were borne by Charles III of Naples as his heirs: the arms of Hungary (Barry of eight Gules and Argent), the arms of the Kingdom of Jerusalem (Argent, the Jerusalem Cross Or) and the ancient arms of Anjou (Azure semé-de-lys Or charged with a label of three points Gules). In 1504 Ferdinand II of Aragon became monarch of Naples and added the arms of Charles III in his heraldry but he removed the arms of Anjou.^[2]

• The Ducal Arms of Milan (used at the time of the House of Sforza) were the biscione, a heraldic charge showing in Argent an Azure serpent in the act of consuming a human quartering, with the Imperial eagle (the earlier single-headed).

The Kingdom of Naples-Sicily and the Duchy of Milan remained in Spanish hands until the War of the Spanish Succession in the early 18th century, when Milan was conquered by the Austrians and Naples-Sicily passed to the House of Savoy.

Italian version of the arms of Charles I of Spain (Charles V as Holy Roman Emperor)
Coat of Arms	Dates	Details
	Charles I Charles V as Holy Roman Emperor 1520-1556	Heraldic Divisions Crown of Castile (Arms of Castile and León, Granada enté en point) Crown of Aragon Kingdom of Navarre Kingdom of Sicily Archduchy of Austria Duchy of Burgundy (Modern arms) Duchy of Burgundy (Ancient arms) Duchy of Brabant Duchy of Flanders and Tirol (Lower inescutcheon) Kingdom of Jerusalem Kingdom of Hungary Granada (Enté en point) Other elements Double-headed eagle of the Holy Roman Empire, the heraldic imperial crown

Versions of the Spanish Royal Arms used by the Monarch as Sovereign of Naples and Sicily
Coat of Arms	Dates and Monarch	Details
	Philip of Spain Prince of Asturias and Girona 1554-1556 Philip II 1556-1598	Heraldic Divisions Crown of Castile (Arms of Castile and León, Granada enté en point) Crown of Aragon Kingdom of Jerusalem Kingdom of Hungary Kingdom of Sicily Archduchy of Austria Duchy of Burgundy (Modern arms) Duchy of Burgundy (Ancient arms) Duchy of Brabant Duchy of Flanders and Tirol (Lower inescutcheon) Heraldic Ornaments Open royal crown of Naples and Sicily, the collar of the Order of the Golden Fleece
	Philip III 1598-1621 Philip IV 1621-1665	Heraldic Divisions Crown of Castile (Arms of Castile and León) Crown of Aragon Kingdom of Jerusalem Archduchy of Austria Duchy of Burgundy (Modern arms) Duchy of Burgundy (Ancient arms) Duchy of Braban Kingdom of Sicily Kingdom of Hungary Heraldic Ornaments Open royal crown of Naples and Sicily
	Charles II 1665-1700	Heraldic Divisions Crown of Castile (Arms of Castile and León) Crown of Aragon Kingdom of Jerusalem Archduchy of Austria Duchy of Burgundy (Modern arms) Duchy of Burgundy (Ancient arms) Duchy of Braban Kingdom of Sicily Kingdom of Hungary Inescutcheon Duchy of Flanders Tirol Heraldic Ornaments Closed royal crown of Naples and Sicily, the collar of the Order of the Golden Fleece

Versions of the Spanish Royal Arms used by the Monarch as Sovereign of Milan
Coat of Arms	Dates and Monarch	Details
	Philip of Spain Prince of Asturias and Girona 1554-1556 Philip II 1556-1558 King Consort of England and Ireland 1554-1558	Heraldic Divisions Dexter (To viewer's left) Crown of Castile (Arms of Castile and León) Crown of Aragon and Kingdom of Sicily Kingdom of Granada (enté en point) Archduchy of Austria Duchy of Burgundy (Modern arms) Duchy of Burgundy (Ancient arms) Duchy of Brabant Duchy of Flanders and Tirol (Lower inescutcheon) Sinister (To viewer's right) Kingdon of England Kingdom of France (Modern)[3] Inescutcheon Duchy of Milan Heraldic Ornaments The Ducal Crown of Milan, the collar of the Order of the Golden Fleece
	Philip II 1558-1580	Heraldic Divisions Dexter (To viewer's left) Crown of Castile (Arms of Castile and León) Crown of Aragon Kingdom of Jerusalem Kingdom of Hungary Kingdom of Sicily Archduchy of Austria Duchy of Burgundy (Modern arms) Duchy of Burgundy (Ancient arms) Duchy of Brabant Duchy of Flanders and Tirol (Lower inescutcheon) Sinister (To viewer's right) Duchy of Milan Heraldic Ornaments The Ducal Crown of Milan, the collar of the Order of the Golden Fleece
	Philip II 1580-1598 Philip I, as King of Portugal 1580-1598 Philip III/II 1598-1621 Philip IV 1621-1665 Philip III as King of Portugal 1621-1640 Charles II 1665-1700	Heraldic Divisions Crown of Castile (Arms of Castile and León) Crown of Aragon Kingdom of Sicily Kingdom of Granada (enté en point) Kingdom of Portugal (Upper inescutcheon) Archduchy of Austria Duchy of Burgundy (Modern arms) Duchy of Burgundy (Ancient arms) Duchy of Brabant Duchy of Flanders and Tirol (Lower inescutcheon) Inescutcheon (Central) Duchy of Milan Heraldic Ornaments Closed Royal Crown, the collar of the Order of the Golden Fleece

See also

• Historical Spanish coats of arms
• Duchy of Milan
• Kingdom of Naples
• Kingdom of Sicily
• Monarchs of Spain
• Italian heraldry
• Spanish heraldry

Notes

1. ^ Allan W. Atlas (1985). Music at the Aragonese court of Naples. Cambridge University Press. p. 1. ISBN 0521248280 
2. ^ (Spanish) Francisco Olmos, José María de. «La moneda napolitana de Fernando el Católico, documento propagandístico de la unidad de las coronas», pp.141-162. Revista General de Información y Documentación, 3 (2001). Madrid, Universidad Complutense. PP. 155-186, ISSN 1132-1873.
3. ^ The order in what are presented the English and French arms is altered respect the usual in England.

References

• (Spanish) Francisco Olmos, José María de. «Las primeras acuñaciones del príncipe Felipe de España (1554-1556): Soberano de Milán Nápoles e Inglaterra». «The First Coins of Prince Felipe of Spain (1554-1556): Sovereign of Milan, Naples and England», pp.165-166. Documenta & Instrumenta, 3 (2005). Madrid, Universidad Complutense. PP. 155-186.

• Menéndez-Pidal De Navascués, Faustino; «El escudo»; Menéndez Pidal y Navascués, Faustino; O´Donnell, Hugo; Lolo, Begoña (1999). Símbolos de España. Madrid: Centro de Estudios Políticos y Constitucionales. ISBN 84-259-1074-9.