Heraldic Information
de Felice Coat of Arms - Basic Shield
de Felice Coat of Arms - Complete Shield
In the category "Familles nobles en Europe", Rietstap's Armorial General describes the blazon as:
"D'or à la fasce de gueules, acc. en chef de trois étoiles rangées d'azur, et en pointe de deux tours de sable. "
Or,
Gold with Fess Gules, three stars Azure in chief, two Towers Sable in base.
In heraldry, a fess is a band on a coat of arms running horizontally across the centre. A fess is a military belt of honour, representing readiness to serve the public, and Gules meaning the colour red. Stars in classical heraldry are comparatively rare, here the three stars in azure colouring symbolise truth and loyalty. Lastly, the two towers represent safety.
In the large and complete version of the coat of arms, the heraldry is more extensive;
In the centre the shield bearing the fess gules, stars and towers. Either side are two unicorns, a Scottish symbol, representing extreme courage, virtue and strength. Set upon the top of the shield is a bust wearing a gold necklace, symbolising the fact that the title can be held suo jure, i.e. by a daughter or son. The bust carries the ducal coronet and two flags, the Swiss and the Scottish connecting two sides of the family, atop contrasting coloured plumes, a fashion adopted by continental heraldry.
The earliest family records originate from Naples in Southern Italy. However, through the religious persecution of Fortunato Bartolommeo de Felice in the 18th century, a large branch of the family is found in Yverdon near Lausanne, Switzerland. However, there are still branches of the family that remain in Italy, and across Western France and later Great Britain. One must distinguish between the modern variants of the name, that is with and without an acute accent on the "e". It is less important for records pre-1800 as they tend to be less standardised in terms of spelling.
