Alfa Romeos

 A calm New Plymouth morning found 50 Alfa Romeos from all over New Zealand parked up by the sea for their 'Show and Shine'.

The oldest there - 1958

All the way from Christchurch - with some coaxing when starting

I gather the cross is derived from the Milanese warriors, the right hand snake part was the symbol of the influential Visconti family.  The crown for when they became dukes in the 15th Century.  However I was puzzled about the bloke in the snakes mouth.  One owner suggested it represented a Saracen.  Alfa = Anonimea Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili. Originally made in Milan in 1910, it was bought by Nicola Romeo in 1915.  The company now owned by Fiat produces in the centre of the country in San Germano, not far from the site of the Battle of Monte Cassino - known to many New Zealanders