Maserati Brand Guidelines: Neptune’s Trident

Maserati’s emblem has a mythic, local source.

Maserati’s emblem is one of the most elegant in motoring: a trident — the three-pronged spear of Neptune, Roman god of the sea. Its origin is beautifully specific. The Maserati company was based in Bologna, and the trident was inspired by the statue of Neptune that stands in the famous fountain (the Fontana del Nettuno) in the heart of the city, near Piazza Maggiore. It was designed by Mario Maserati — the one of the founding Maserati brothers who was an artist rather than an engineer — giving the company a mark rooted in local pride and classical mythology. The trident perfectly conveys power, strength and nobility, evoking the might of a god of the sea. Our homage nods to an abstract trident, not the Maserati mark.

Maserati blends performance with beauty.

The trident captures exactly what Maserati stands for: power, elegance and Italian artistry. Neptune’s spear signals strength and command, while the refined, graceful rendering signals sophistication and beauty — a fitting emblem for a marque that makes fast, luxurious, exquisitely-styled Italian grand tourers and sports cars. Maserati occupies a distinctive niche: more elegant and refined than some rivals, its cars prized as much for their beauty, craftsmanship and character as for their speed. The mythological, locally-rooted trident reinforces that identity of noble, artful performance — luxury and power expressed with Italian grace. It’s a brand that has always traded on the combination of a thrilling drive and genuine beauty, and its god’s-trident emblem, drawn by an artist and drawn from its home city’s most famous statue, embodies that blend of might and refinement perfectly.

Maserati’s trident carries deep history.

Maserati was founded in 1914 in Bologna by the Maserati brothers, and its trident has flown for over a century — through a storied racing history (early Grand Prix and motorsport success) and a lineage of beautiful, characterful road cars. That deep heritage gives the emblem real weight: it’s not a modern marketing device but a genuine, century-old mark tied to a specific city, a specific family and a real history of Italian automotive craft and competition. The consistency of the trident through all those years — keeping the same mythological symbol while the cars evolved — has let its equity compound into something instantly recognisable and rich with association. When you see the trident, you see not just a logo but a hundred years of Italian passion, artistry and performance, rooted in the streets of Bologna and the statue of a sea god.

Maserati shows the power of a meaningful emblem.

Maserati’s trident is a lovely lesson in the power of a meaningful, well-sourced symbol. Several things make it work. First, it’s rooted in place and story: drawn from the Neptune statue in the company’s home city of Bologna, by the artist among the founding brothers, it carries genuine local pride and a real origin tale — giving it depth and authenticity that an arbitrary mark could never have. Second, it’s rich with fitting meaning: Neptune’s trident conveys power, strength and nobility, exactly the qualities a performance-luxury brand wants, so the emblem reinforces the brand’s essence every time it appears.

Third, it’s elegant and distinctive: a classical trident is unusual among car badges, instantly recognisable, and beautifully suited to a marque that prizes artistry as much as speed. And fourth, its power comes from consistency and heritage: flown unchanged for over a century, the trident has accumulated a century’s worth of association and prestige. The takeaway is that the strongest emblems are often those grounded in genuine meaning, place and story, chosen to reflect the brand’s essence, and then kept consistent long enough for their equity to compound. Maserati found its symbol in a god’s spear on a fountain in its home city — a mark of power and beauty, drawn by an artist — and a hundred years later it remains one of the most elegant and evocative badges on the road.

An elegant, Italian, refined wordmark.

Maserati pairs the trident with an elegant, refined wordmark. The specimen below stands in with a refined serif.

The classic trident colours. Click a swatch to copy the hex.

Maserati’s classic trident is blue #0C2340 with red #C8102E accents, plus silver. Lead with blue and red below.

Keep the trident idea on hand — save the homage and the palette to a board.