National personification

In the first personifications in the Western World, warrior deities or figures symbolizing wisdom were used (for example the goddess Athena in ancient Greece), to indicate the strength and power of the nation.

Another ancient model was Roma, a female deity who personified the city of Rome and his dominion over the territories of the Roman Empire.

[1] Roma was probably favoured by Rome's high-status Imperial representatives abroad, rather than the Roman populace at large.

[2] Examples of representations of the everyman or citizenry in addition to the nation itself are Deutscher Michel, John Bull and Uncle Sam.

The allegorical representation with the towers, which draws its origins from ancient Rome, is typical of Italian civic heraldry, so much so that the mural crown is also the symbol of the cities of Italy.

The allegorical personification of Italy ( Italia turrita ; lit. ' Turreted Italy ' ). The allegorical representation with the towers draws its origins from ancient Rome . The origin of the turreted woman is linked to the figure of Cybele , a deity of fertility of Anatolian origin, in whose representations she wears a wall crown. Its most classic aspect derives from the primordial myth of the Great Mediterranean Mother .