15thc perception on swallowtail merlons?

[Rtael]

Thanks Michelle, that's some solid research! The thread and map have been updated. This really cements Venice in second place after the Milan region and followed by Naples.

I do wonder why they drew "eastern" cities with swallowtail merlons. The association does not appear to be with Jerusalem per se, since for example they also show up on "Babilonia", which is the metaphorical antithesis of Jerusalem. The reason for this association may be of interest, since the VM was written well after the heyday of the Guelph-Ghibelline conflict.

Either way, we are now left with a paradoxical situation where, from the Italian perspective, the swallowtail merlon can signify both domestic and (apparently more generalized) foreign areas.

Almost makes sense to me. Lots of these Eastern cities are where crusades were happening and where Italians/westerners had influence. Depicting these places with many of the embellishments of home may be a way of declaring victory or incorporating new additions into the terra firma. (I feel like I am fair to say we have not seen an Eastern writer/artist actually depicting these things?)