Horse jumping through hoop in coat of arms?

Question

What is suppossedly my family's coat of arms has a very unusual design. It has a white horse jumping though a hoop. The background is red and around it are the words Rebellatus, audax, honore, afficiens. The family is from Northern Italy and supposedly the name originates from a group of rebels who moved away from the Roman rule and formed their own community, hence the Latin "Rebellatus"

A copy of this crest came to my father as he was gathering family information. We don't know if this is accurate and I can't find any information on the subject on-line.

Does anyone know anything about italian heraldry?

Answer 1

no i dunno

Answer 2

Stay away from online resources. They're notoriously error-filled, especially House of Names. Go to a good library and find a book on Italian heraldry. If they don't have it on their shelves, order it through Interlibrary loan. If the name isn't published in a reputable Italian resource, it isn't legitimate. Also know that Italy didn't have surnames until the last 450 years. Anything claiming to be older than that isn't listing a legitmate coat of arms related to anyone with your surname. It's pure fiction or a very long stretch of the imagination. Hereditary coats of arms were much more a British "thing" than Italian or Mediterranean. Be suspect of anything until you prove it's not only legitimate, but also legitimately tied to your own line of your family.