Stage 5 takes the cyclists from
Agrigento to
Santa Ninfa along the south coast of Sicily.
Agrigento's arms feature no less than three sets of male genitals and some impressive six-packs. Some sort of record?
Blazon:
D'argento, a tre giganti poggianti su di un piedistallo, posti: quello di mezzo di fronte e i laterali di profilo, il sinistro rivolto, sostenenti una piattaforma merlata, alla guelfa, da cui ergono tre torri pure merlate alla guelfa, quella di mezzo più alta, il tutto al naturale. Motto: Signat Agrigentum mirabilis aula gigantum.
Agrigento is home to the ruins of many Greek temples and other buildings from the 6th-4th centuries BC (much of which is now a World Heritage Site). So why the arms show three medieval towers is not clear, though they may be intended to represent the medieval city. The reason for the giants is however obvious: the giants were indeed ancient Agrigento's supporters - literally.
Santa Ninfa does not seem to have a coat of arms. It also lacks the long history of Agrigento, having been founded in the 17th century. So let's have a look at the arms of
Sicily instead:
Blazon:
Trinciato di rosso e d'oro alla triscele di carnagione, con il gorgoneion e le spighe al naturale.
The three-legged device is called the "Trinacria". Depending on one's source this either represents the three-cornered shape of Sicily with the head of Medusa, or one of the "Hormitans", according to myth the primordial inhabitants of the island.
The ancient arms of the Kings of Sicily were:
Blazon:
Quarterat en sautor: 1r i 4t d'Or, quatre pals de Gules; 2n i 3r de Plata, una àguila de sable, armada, lampassada, membrada i becada de Gules.
The Kings of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies during the 19th century seem to have been trying to use their arms to overcome some sort of inferiority complex:
Note the heraldic claim to the Kingdom of Jerusalem.