18 June 1946; 79 years ago (18 June 1946) (founding of the Italian Republic) 14 April 2006; 19 years ago (14 April 2006) (current colour specifications)
An square flag as the banner of the arms of the Italian Navy
Theflag of Italy (Italian:bandiera d'Italia,Italian:[banˈdjɛːradiˈtaːlja]), often referred to asthe Tricolour (il Tricolore,Italian:[iltrikoˈloːre]), is a flag featuring three equally sized verticalpales of green, white and red, with the green at the hoist side, as defined by Article 12 of theConstitution of the Italian Republic.[1] The Italian law regulates its use and display, protecting its defense and providing for thecrime of insulting it; it also prescribes its teaching in Italian schools together with othernational symbols of Italy.
The ItalianFlag Day namedTricolour Day was established by law n. 671 of 31 December 1996, and is held every year on 7 January. This celebration commemorates the first official adoption of the tricolour as a national flag by a sovereign Italian state, theCispadane Republic, a Napoleonicsister republic ofRevolutionary France, which took place inReggio Emilia on 7 January 1797, on the basis of the events following theFrench Revolution (1789–1799) which, among its ideals, advocated nationalself-determination. The Italian national colours appeared for the first time inGenoa on atricolour cockade on 21 August 1789, anticipating by seven years the first green, white and red Italian militarywar flag, which was adopted by theLombard Legion inMilan on 11 October 1796.
After 7 January 1797, popular support for the Italian flag grew steadily, until it became one of the most important symbols ofItalian unification, which culminated on 17 March 1861 with theproclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, of which the tricolour became the national flag. Following its adoption, the tricolour became one of the most recognisable and defining features of united Italian statehood in the following two centuries of thehistory of Italy.
On 12 July 1789, two days before thestorming of the Bastille, the revolutionary journalistCamille Desmoulins, while hailing the Parisian crowd to revolt, asked the protesters what colour to adopt as a symbol of the French Revolution, proposing green, a symbol ofhope or theblue of theAmerican Revolution, a symbol offreedom anddemocracy. The protesters replied "The green! The green! We want green cockades!"[7] Desmoulins then seized a green leaf from the ground and pointed it to the hat as a distinctive sign of the revolutionaries.[7] The green, in the primitiveFrench cockade, was immediately abandoned in favour of blue and red, theancient colours of Paris, because it was also the colour of the king's brother,Count of Artois, who became monarch after theFirst Restoration with the name ofCharles X of France.[8] The French tricolour cockade was then completed on 17 July 1789 with the addition of white, the colour of theHouse of Bourbon, in deference to KingLouis XVI of France, who still ruled despite the violent revolts that raged in the country; the French monarchy wasabolished on 10 August 1792.
The first documented use ofItalian national colours is dated 21 August 1789. In the historical archives of theRepublic of Genoa it is reported that eyewitnesses had seen some demonstrators hanging ared, white and green cockade on their clothes.[9] The Italian gazettes of the time had created confusion about the facts of French Revolution, especially on the replacement of green with blue, reporting that the French tricolour was green, white and red.[10] When the correct information on the chromatic composition of the French tricolour arrived in Italy, the Italian Jacobins decided to keep green instead of blue, because it represented nature and therefore metaphorically, alsonatural rights, orsocial equality andfreedom, both principles dear to them.[11]
The red, white and green cockade then reappeared several years later on 13–14 November 1794 worn by a group of students of theUniversity of Bologna, led by Luigi Zamboni and Giovanni Battista De Rolandis who attempted to plot a popular riot to topple the Catholic government ofBologna,[12][13] a city which was part of thePapal States at the time. Zamboni and De Rolandis defined themselves as "patriots" and wore tricolour cockades to signal they were inspired by Jacobin revolutionary ideals, but modified them also to distinguish themselves from the French cockade.
The red, white and green cockade appeared, after the events of Bologna, duringNapoleon's entry intoMilan, which took place on 15 May 1796.[14] These cockades, having the typical circular shape, possessed red on the outside, green on an intermediate position, and white on the centre.[15] These ornaments were worn by the rioters even during the religious ceremonies officiated inside theMilan Cathedral as thanks for the arrival of Napoleon, who was seen, at least initially, as a liberator.[14] The tricolour cockades then became one of the official symbols of the Milanese National Guard, which was founded on 20 November 1796, and then spread elsewhere along theItalian peninsula.[11] Later the green, white and red cockade spread to a greater extent, gradually becoming the only ornament used in Italy by the rioters.[16] The patriots began to call it "Italian cockade" making it become one of thesymbols of the country.[16] The green, white and red tricolour thus acquired a strong patriotic value, becoming one of the symbols of national awareness, a change that gradually led it to enter thecollective imagination of theItalians.[16]
The war flag of theLombard Legion, which was the first military unit to adopt the three Italian national colours
The oldest documented mention of the Italian tricolour flag is linked toNapoleon Bonaparte's first descent into theItalian peninsula. The first territory to be conquered by Napoleon wasPiedmont; in the historical archive of the Piedmontese municipality ofCherasco is preserved a document attesting, on 13 May 1796, on the occasion of theArmistice of Cherasco between Napoleon and the Austro-Piedmontese troops, the first mention of the Italian tricolour, referring to municipal banners hoisted on three towers in the historic centre.[17] On the document the term "green" was subsequently crossed and replaced by "blue", the colour that forms – together with white and red – the French flag.[3]
With the start of thefirst campaign in Italy, in many places the Jacobins of the Italian peninsula rose up, contributing, together with the Italian soldiers framed in the Napoleonic army, to the French victories.[18][19] This renewal was accepted by the Italians despite being linked to the conveniences of Napoleonic France, which had strong imperialist tendencies because the new political situation was seen as better than the previous one. This double-threaded link with France was more acceptable than the previous centuries ofabsolutism.[opinion][20]
Flag of theCispadane Republic, which was the first Italian tricolour adopted by a sovereign Italian state (1797)
On 11 October 1796, Napoleon communicated to theDirectorate the birth of theLombard Legion, a military unit constituted by the General Administration ofLombardy,[21][22] a government that was headed by theTranspadane Republic (1796–1797).[23] On this document, with reference to itswar flag, which followed the French tricolour and which was proposed to Napoleon by the Milanese patriots,[14] it is reported that this military unit would have had a red, white and green banner, colours formerly used by Milanese National Guard as well as on the cockades.[24][25][26] In a ceremony at thePiazza del Duomo on 16 November 1796, amilitary flag was presented to the Lombard Legion. The Lombard Legion was therefore the first Italian military department to equip itself, as a banner, with a tricolour flag.[23] The first official approval of the Italian flag by the authorities was therefore as a military insignia of the Lombard— Legion and not yet as thenational flag of a sovereign Italian state.[27]
With the succession of Napoleon's military victories and the consequent founding of republics favourable to revolutionary ideals, red, white and green were adopted on military banners as a symbol of social and political innovation in many Italian cities.[5] On 19 June 1796,Bologna was occupied by Napoleon's troops.[28] On 18 October 1796,[29] together with the establishment of the Italian Legion (the military banner of this military unit was composed of a red, white and green tricolour, probably inspired by the similar decision of the Lombard Legion),[14][24][30] the wire Napoleonic congregation of magistrates, and deputies of Bologna, decided to create acivic banner of red, white and green, this time released from military use.[29] Following the adoption by the Bolognese congregation, the Italian flag became a political symbol of the struggle for the independence of Italy from foreign powers, supported by its use also in the civil sphere.[29]
The first red, white and green national flag of a sovereign Italian state was adopted on 7 January 1797, when the Fourteenth Parliament of theCispadane Republic (1797), on the proposal of deputyGiuseppe Compagnoni, decreed "to make universal the ... standard or flag of three colours, green, white, and red ...":[31]
[...] From the minutes of the XIV Session of the Cispadan Congress: Reggio Emilia, 7 January 1797, 11 am.Patriotic Hall. The participants are 100, deputies of the populations of Bologna, Ferrara, Modena and Reggio Emilia. Giuseppe Compagnoni also motioned that the standard or Cispadan Flag of three colours, Green, White and Red, should be rendered Universal and that these three colours should also be used in the Cispadan Cockade, which should be worn by everyone. It is decreed. [...][Note 1]
— Decree of adoption of the tricolour flag by the Cispadane Republic
For having proposed the green, white and red tricolour flag, Giuseppe Compagnoni is considered the "father of the Italian flag".[32][33] The congress decision to adopt a green, white and red tricolour flag was then greeted by a jubilant atmosphere, such was the enthusiasm of the delegates, and by a peal of applause.[34] The adoption of the Italian flag by a sovereign Italian state, the Cispadane Republic, was inspired by this Bolognese banner, linked to a municipal reality and therefore still having a purely local scope, and to the previous military banners of the Lombard Legion and Italian Legion.[4][35] In particular, the Italian Legion was formed by soldiers coming fromEmilia andRomagna. The flag of the Cispadane Republic was a horizontal square with red uppermost and, at the heart of the whitefess, an emblem composed of a garland of laurel decorated with a trophy of arms and four arrows, representing the four provinces that formed the Republic. In France, due to the Revolution, the flag went from having a "dynastic" and "military" meaning to a "national" one, and this concept, still unknown in Italy, was transmitted by the French to the Italians.[36]
TheSala del Tricolore, which later became the council hall of the municipality ofReggio Emilia, where the Italian flag was born on 7 January 1797
The Cispadane Republic and the Transpadane Republic merged in 1797 into theCisalpine Republic (1797–1802) and adopted the vertical square tricolour without badge in 1798. Originally the colours of the flag of the Cisalpine Republic were arranged horizontally, with green at the top,[37] but on 11 May 1798, the Grand Council of the newborn State chose, as the national banner, an Italian tricolour with the colours arranged vertically.[38][39][40] At the formal celebration of the birth in the new republic, which took place on 9 July in Milan, 300,000 people took part, including ordinary citizens, French soldiers and representatives of the major municipalities of the republic.[20] The event was characterised by a riot of tricolour flags and cockades.[37] On this occasion, Napoleon solemnly gave to the military units of the newborn republic, after having reviewed them, their tricolour banners.[13]
The flag of the Cisalpine Republic was maintained until 1802, when it was renamed theNapoleonic Italian Republic (1802–1805), and a new flag was adopted, this time with a red field carrying a green square within a whitelozenge; thepresidential standard of Italy in use since 14 October 2000 was inspired by this flag.[41]
It was during this period that the green, white and red tricolour predominantly penetrated the collective imagination of the Italians, becoming an unequivocalsymbol of Italianness.[42][43] In less than 20 years, the red, white and green flag had acquired its own peculiarity from a simple flag derived from the French one, becoming very famous and known.[42]
In 1799, the independentRepublic of Lucca came under French influence and horizontally adopted the vertical green, white and red flag, with green at the top; this lasted until 1801. In 1805, Napoleon installed his sister,Elisa Bonaparte Baciocchi, as Princess ofLucca andPiombino. This affair is commemorated in the opening ofLeo Tolstoy'sWar and Peace.[44]
In the same year, after Napoleon had crowned himself as the firstFrench Emperor, the Italian Republic was transformed into the firstNapoleonic Kingdom of Italy (1805–1814), orItalico, under his direct rule. The flag of the Kingdom of Italy was that of the Republic in rectangular form,charged with the golden Napoleonic eagle.[45] This remained in use until the fall of Napoleon in 1814.
TheFive Days of Milan (1848), of which one of the symbols was the tricolour
With the fall of Napoleon and the restoration of theabsolutist monarchical regimes, the Italian tricolour went underground, becoming the symbol of the patriotic ferments that began to spread in Italy[14][42] and the symbol which united all the efforts of the Italian people towards freedom and independence.[46] In theKingdom of Lombardy–Venetia, a state dependent on theAustrian Empire born after the fall of Napoleon, those who exhibited the Italian tricolour were subject to thedeath penalty.[47] The Austrians' objective was in fact, quoting the textual words of EmperorFranz Joseph I of Austria:[48]
[The tricolour was banned to] make people forget that they are Italian.
The green, white and red flag reappeared during therevolutions of 1830,[49] mainly due toCiro Menotti, the patriot who started the rebellion in Italy.[50][51] Menotti, in particular, argued that the best form of state for a united Italy was the monarchy with a sovereign chosen by a national congress. The main points of this idea were Rome as the capital of Italy and the tricolour flag as a national banner.[52] On 5 February 1831, during the Forlì uprisings, the patriot Teresa Cattani wrapped herself in the tricolour flag during the assault on the building that was the seat of theLegation of Romagna, challenging the shots of the papal soldiers.[49]
In 1831, the tricolour was chosen byGiuseppe Mazzini as the emblem ofYoung Italy.[53] An original flag of Young Italy is kept at the Museum of the Risorgimento and Mazzinian institute inGenoa.[54] From 1833 to 1834, the symbolism of the tricolour spread more and more along the Italian peninsula,[55] starting from northern and central Italy.[49] Mazzini, regarding the reason why the Italian patriots had participated in the uprisings of 1830–1831, said:[56]
Ask those who ran from one point to another to bring together the various districts, to the flag that flew between those riots. That flag was the Italian flag; those first voices were voices of Fatherland and brotherhood.[Note 2]
— Giuseppe Mazzini
The Italian flag also spread among political exiles, becoming the symbol of the struggle for independence and the claim to have more liberal constitutions.[57] In 1834 the tricolour was adopted by the rioters who tried to invadeSavoy,[58][59] while the tricolour flag of Young Italy was brought toSouth America in 1835 byGiuseppe Garibaldi during his exile.[57]
The Italian flag was also waved during the uprisings of 1837 inSicily, of 1841 inAbruzzo and of 1843 inRomagna.[49][60] In 1844, a tricolour of Young Italy accompanied theBandiera brothers in their failed attempt to raise the population of theKingdom of the Two Sicilies.[58] The patriots following the two brothers wore a uniform consisting of a blue and green shirt, white trousers, red handguards, a red and green collar, a red leather belt and a cap with anItalian tricolour cockade pinned.[61]
Italian tricolours waved, challenging the authorities, who had decreed the ban, also on the occasion of the commemoration of the revolt of the Genoese quarter of Portoria against theHabsburg occupiers during theWar of the Austrian Succession. During this event, which took place on 10 December 1847 in Genoa at the square of thesantuario della Nostra Signora di Loreto of the Genoese district of Oregina,Il Canto degli Italiani byGoffredo Mameli andMichele Novaro played for the first time in history; it would become the Italiannational anthem from 1946.[58][62]Il Canto degli Italiani, in a verse, quotes the Italian flag:
[...] Let one flag, one hope, gather us all. The hour has struck for us to unite. [...][Note 3]
These verses, which can be read in the second verse, recall the hope that Italy, still divided into thepre-unification states, would be united in a single nation, gathering under a single flag.[62] Starting from this period thestrawberry tree plant began to be considereda national symbol of Italy due to the green leaves, white flowers and red berries, which recall the colours of the Italian flag.[63] The strawberry tree is thenational tree ofItaly.[63]
The Italian flag was a symbol of therevolutions of 1848. In March 1848, theFive Days of Milan, an armedinsurrection which led to the temporary liberation of the city from Austrian rule, were characterised by a profusion of flags and tricolour cockades.[64][65] On 20 March, during furious fighting, with the Austrians barricaded in theCastello Sforzesco and within the defensive systems of the city walls, the patriots Luigi Torelli and Scipione Bagaggia managed to climb on the roof of theMilan Cathedral and hoist the Italian flag on the highest spire of the church, the one on which theMadonnina stands.[66] At the moment of the appearance of the tricolour on the spire of theMadonnina, the crowd below greeted the event with a series of enthusiastic "Hurray!"[67] This historic flag is kept inside theMuseum of the Risorgimento in Milan.[68] The patriot Luciano Manara then managed to hoist the tricolour, amidst the Austrian artillery shots, on the top ofPorta Tosa.[67] The abandonment of the city by the Austrian troops offield marshalJosef Radetzky, on 22 March, determined the immediate establishment of the provisional government of Milan chaired by thepodestà Gabrio Casati, who issued a proclamation that read:[69]
Let's get it over with once with any foreign domination in Italy. Embrace this tricolour flag that flies over the country for your valour and swear never to let it tear again.[Note 4]
— Gabrio Casati
The process of transforming the flag of Italy into one of the Italian national symbols was completed, definitively consolidating itself, during the Milanese uprisings.[58]
The following day KingCharles Albert of Piedmont-Sardinia assured the provisional government of Milan that his troops, ready to come to his aid by starting theFirst Italian War of Independence, would use a tricolourdefaced with the Savoyan coat of arms superimposed on the white as a war flag.[70][71] In his proclamation to the Lombard–Venetian people, Charles Albert said:[72]
"In order to show more clearly with exterior signs the commitment to Italian unification, we want that Our troops ... have the Savoy shield placed on the Italian tricolour flag.[Note 5]
— Charles Albert of Piedmont-Sardinia
As the arms,blazonedgules a cross argent, mixed with the white of the flag, it wasfimbriated azure, blue being thedynastic colour, although this does not conform to the heraldicrule of tincture.[73] The rectangular civil and state variants were adopted in 1851.
A makeshift tricolour consisting ofredshirts, green displays and a white sheet was hoisted on the flagpole of the ship that broughtGiuseppe Garibaldi back to Italy from South America shortly after the outbreak of the First Italian War of Independence.[74] The patriots who had gathered at theport of Genoa to welcome her return gaveAnita Garibaldi, in front of 3,000 people, a tricolour to be given to Giuseppe Garibaldi so that he could plant it on Lombard soil.[75]
TheGrand Duchy of Tuscany in the act of granting the constitution (17 February 1848) did not change the national banner ("The State retains its flag and its colours") but later granted the Tuscan militias, by decree, the use of a tricolour scarf next to the symbols of the Grand Duchy (25 March 1848).[76] The Grand Duke, following the pressure of the Tuscan patriots, then adopted the tricolour flag also as a state banner and as a military banner for the troops sent to help Charles Albert of Piedmont-Sardinia.[74][77] Similar measures were adopted by theDuchy of Parma and Piacenza and by theDuchy of Modena and Reggio.[78]
The proclamation theRepublic of San Marco inVenice (1848), event that was characterised by a waving of tricolour flags
The flag of the ConstitutionalKingdom of the Two Sicilies, a white field charged with the coats of arms of Castile, Leon, Aragon, Two Sicilies, and Granada, was modified byFerdinand II through the addition of a red and green border. This flag lasted from 3 April 1848 until 19 May 1849. The Provisional Government of Sicily, which lasted from 12 January 1848 to 15 May 1849 during theSicilian Revolution, adopted the Italian tricolour, defaced with the trinacria, ortriskelion.
TheRepublic of San Marco, proclaimed independent in 1848 by theAustrian Empire, also adopted the tricolour.[79][80] The flags that they adopted marked the link to Italian independence and unification efforts. The former, the Italian tricolour undefaced, and the latter, charged with the winged lion of St. Mark, from the flag of theRepublic of Venice (maritime republic which existed from 697AD until 1797 AD), on a whitecanton.[81] A chronicler of the time described the final moments of the subsequent capitulation of the Republic of San Marco by the Austrian troops, which took place on 22 August 1849:[82]
The tricolour flags waved above every work, in every danger, and because the enemy balls not only tore up the silk, but broke the stick, it was immediately found who at great risk was going to replace another.[Note 6]
— Chronicler witnessing the last hours of the Republic of San Marco
The tricolour flag of 1848 that greeted the expulsion of the Austrians from Venice is kept in the Museum of the Risorgimento and the Venetian 19th century.[83]
In 1849, theRoman Republic, formed following the revolt against thePapal State that dethroned thePope, adopted as its national banner a green, white and red flag with arepublican Roman eagle at the tip of the pole.[84][85][86] This lasted for four months, while the Papal States of the Church was in abeyance.[87] The Roman Republic resisted until 4 July 1849, when it was capitulated by the French Army.[82] The troops from beyond the Alps, as a last act, entered the municipality of Rome where the last members of the republican assembly not yet captured were barricaded. Their secretary Quirico Filopanti surrendered wearing a tricolour scarf.[82]
The tricolour also flew over the barricades of theTen Days of Brescia, a revolt of the citizens of the Lombard city against the Austrian Empire,[88] and in many other centres such asVarese,Gallarate,Como,Melegnano,Cremona,Monza,Udine,Trento,Verona,Rovigo,Vicenza,Belluno andPadua.[89] This spread throughout the Italian peninsula and demonstrated that the tricolour flag had by then assumed a consolidated symbolism valid throughout the national territory.[90] The iconography of the Italian flag then began to spread not only in the vexillological and military fields, but also in some everyday objects such as scarves and clothing fabrics.[91]
This turning point lasted until the failure of revolutions and the end of the First Italian War of Independence (1849), which ended with the defeat of the Piedmont-Sardinian Army of Charles Albert; after this, the ancient flags were restored.[92] Only the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia confirmed the Italian tricolour as the national flag of the state even after the First Italian War of Independence ended.[92] After the defeat in the First Italian War of Independence in 1849, Charles Albert abdicated in favour of his sonVictor Emmanuel II.
Soldiers! Here are your flags. Generously explained by the magnanimous Charles Albert, they remind you of the distant homeland and eight centuries of noble traditions. Know how to defend them; bring them back crowned with new glory and your sacrifices will be blessed by present and future generations.[Note 7]
— Victor Emmanuel II of Piedmont-Sardinia
One of the Italian flags that participated in the Crimean War is kept in theRoyal Armoury of Turin.[97] In 1857, an Italian flag with the pole surmounted by a Phrygian cap and with anarchipendulum, a symbol of social balance, was a symbol of theSapri expedition, or rather the failed attempt to trigger a revolt in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies perpetrated byCarlo Pisacane.[98][99] In order not to be captured, Pisacane committed suicide, and was reported to be bandaged with the tricolour flag.[100][101]
On 10 January 1859, King Victor Emmanuel II of Piedmont-Sardinia, in front of the members of parliament, announced the imminent entry into war of the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia against theAustrian Empire:[90]
So move confidently in the victory, and with new laurels adorn your flag, that flag with the three colours and with the chosen youth here from every part of Italy agreed and gathered under her, it shows you that you have the independence of Italy, this just and holy enterprise which will be your war cry[Note 8]
During the Second Italian War of Independence the cities that were gradually conquered by Victor Emmanuel II of Piedmont-Sardinia andNapoleon III of France greeted the two sovereigns as liberators in a riot of flags and tricolour cockades; even the centres about to ask for annexation to the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia through plebiscites underlined their desire to be part of a united Italy with the waving of the tricolour.[103] The Italian flag waved in Lombardy, annexed following the victory of the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia in the Second Italian War of Independence, as well as inTuscany,Emilia,Marche andUmbria, annexed in the following year to the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia through plebiscites, but also in cities that would have had to wait some time before being annexed, such asRome andNaples.[104][105]
The enthusiasm of the population toward the tricolour grew in addition to the army of the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia and the troops of volunteers who participated in the Second Italian War of Independence,[90] the green, white and red flag spread widely available in newly conquered or annexed regions by plebiscites, appearing on house windows, in shop windows and in public places such as hotels and taverns.[106]
The tricolour accompanied, although not officially,[109] also the volunteers of theExpedition of the Thousand (1860–1861) led byGiuseppe Garibaldi, whose goal was to conquer theKingdom of the Two Sicilies.[110] Garibaldi, in particular, had an absolute deference and respect for the Italian flag.[111] Shortly after the loss of Sicily, on 25 June 1860, trying to limit the damage given the growing participation of the population in the Expedition of the Thousand, KingFrancis II of the Two Sicilies, decreed that the green, white and red flag was also the official banner of his Kingdom, with theHouse of Bourbon-Two Sicilies coat of arms superimposed on the white.[112][113][114] Adopted on 21 June 1860, this lasted until 17 March 1861, when the Two Sicilies was incorporated into theKingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia, after its defeat in the Expedition of the Thousand. Ironically, in the final phase of the Expedition of the Thousand, the tricolour of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies fluttered in antagonism to the tricolour flag of the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia.[115] Two of the original tricolours that flew on theLombardosteamship that participated, together withPiedmont, in the Expedition of the Thousand, are preserved, respectively, inside theCentral Museum of the Risorgimento at the Vittoriano in Rome[116] and the Museum of the Risorgimento inPalermo.[117]
On 17 March 1861, there was theproclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, a formal act that sanctioned, with a normative act of the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia, the birth of the unified Kingdom of Italy.[118] On 15 April 1861, the flag of theKingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia was declared the flag of the newly formed Kingdom of Italy.[119] The tricolour therefore continued to be the national flag also of the new State, although not officially recognised by a specific law,[120][121] but regulated with regard to the shape of military banners.[122][123][124] This Italian tricolour, with the armorial bearings of the former RoyalHouse of Savoy, was the first national flag and lasted in that form for 85 years until thebirth of the Italian Republic in 1946.
Thetricolore had a universal, transversal meaning, shared by bothmonarchists andrepublicans,progressives andconservatives andGuelphs as well as by the Ghibellines. The tricolour was chosen as the flag of a united Italy also for this reason.[112] After the Unification of Italy, the use of the tricolour became increasingly widespread among the population[125] as the flag and its colours began to appear on the labels of commercial products, school notebooks, the first cars and cigar packages.[125] Even among the aristocrats it was successful; the most important families often had a flag bearer installed on the main façade of their mansions where they placed the Italian tricolour.[125] It then began to appear outside public buildings, schools, judicial offices and post offices.[125] During this period, tricolour bands were introduced for mayors and the jurors of the assize court during this period.[125]
Following theThird Italian War of Independence in 1866,Veneto andFriuli were annexed to the Kingdom of Italy; the entry of theItalian Army troops intoVenice, which took place on 19 October 1866, was greeted by a profusion of tricolour flags.[126][127] Since the promulgation of a resolution of its municipal council, dated 5 November 1866,Vicenza is the only city in Italy to have adopted the tricolour flag as its owngonfalon, instead of the civic banner, loaded with the coat of arms of the municipality.[128] The Venetian city decided to patriotically change the nature of its sign shortly before the visit of King Victor Emmanuel II, who arrived in the city for the awarding of theGold Medal of Military Valour earned by the Venetian municipality with thebattle of Monte Berico, fought on 10 June 1848 in the outskirts of the city. The occasion of the Sovereign's visit, Vicenza presented Victor Emmanuel II not with his own banner but, a decision from which his subsequent resolution was to originate, the Italian tricolour.[128]
During thebattle of Custoza (24 June 1866), part of the Third Italian War of Independence, near Oliosi, today part of the municipality ofCastelnuovo del Garda, the soldiers of the 44thregiment of the "Forlì"brigade saved the tricolour war flag from the capture of theAustro-Hungarian Army. In order not to hand over their military banner to the enemy, they tore the drape of the tricolour flag into 13 pieces, divided among those present, and hid those shreds of cloth under the jacket. After the war it was possible to recover 11 of the 13 portions of the cloth and thus reconstruct the flag, namedTricolore di Oliosi.[129] Every year, on the third Sunday in June, the remembrance of the war episode is celebrated in Oliosi.[130] At themilitary parade on 2 June 2011, held invia dei Fori Imperiali in Rome on the occasion of the celebrations for the 150thanniversary of the unification of Italy, theTricolore di Oliosi was paraded on acannoncarriage along with five other historic Italian flags.[131]
Massimo d'Azeglio was among the first to recognize the importance of the tricolour flag as a tool for forming a widespread national awareness.[120] In this regard he declared:[120] "The flag is a privileged symbol in the pedagogy of a nation". Tricolour flags then greeted the Italian Army during the march toward Rome, which ended with thecapture of Rome on 20 September 1870, and the annexation ofLazio to the Kingdom of Italy.[120][132][127] Rome officially became the capital of Italy on 1 January 1871, while the establishment of the royal court and the Savoy government took place on 6 July of the same year. From this date, the Italian flag flies from the highest flagpole of theQuirinal Palace.[133]
Postcard of theCarabinieri sent from theItalian Eritrea in 1907 and depicting an eagle flying an Italian flag
In 1897, the Italian flag had its 100th anniversary. The centennial celebration inReggio Emilia, where the tricolour was created on 7 January 100 years earlier,[135]Giosuè Carducci, who later became the first Italian to win theNobel Prize in Literature in 1906,[136] defined the flag as "blessed" and kissed it at the end of the speech.[137][135][138]
Around 1880 began large waves ofItalian diaspora, especially towards the Americans. The tricolour, often carried in the suitcases of migrants, began to wave outside the national borders, especially in theLittle Italies that were forming around the world.[139] This bond with the land of origin did not fade with the passing of generations—often still alive in the third or fourth generation.[140] Several years earlier in 1861,U.S. presidentAbraham Lincoln reviewed some military units that were participating in theAmerican Civil War—among them was aGaribaldi Guard, made up of Italian immigrants, which had as its military banner the tricolour flag.[139]
In 1885, the tricolour jersey was introduced for the cyclist who won the title of champion of Italy.[141] Conceptually, this recognition is similar to the placement of a tricolour shield, thescudetto, on the jerseys of the team champion of Italy infootball,rugby,volleyball andbasketball.[141] The idea of affixing ascudetto on the shirts of the winning sports teams of the respective national championships wasGabriele D'Annunzio.[142] In football, the first sport to use it, it was introduced in 1924.[142]
In 1889, in the culinary field, thepizza Margherita was invented, named in honour of QueenMargherita of Savoy, whose main ingredients recall the tricolour flag. Green for thebasil, white for themozzarella and red for thetomato sauce.[143] With the firsttrade union struggles at the end of the 19th century, the Italian flag began to wave in the hands of the demonstrators duringstrikes.[144] Even during the struggles perpetrated by theFasci Siciliani between 1892 and 1894 there was a profusion of Italian flag.[145] They were contrasted by the tricolours of the police sent by the government to quell the trade union revolts.[144] On 25 April 1900, the Italian flag flew in theFranz Josef Land, an archipelago located north of theRussian Empire between theArctic Ocean and theKara Sea,[146][147] an expedition organized in thearctic areas led by explorerUmberto Cagni.[146]
Soldiers of land and sea! [...] To us the glory of planting the tricolour of Italy on the sacred boundary that nature placed on the borders of our homeland, to us the glory of finally completing the work with so much heroism begun by our fathers.[Note 9]
— Victor Emmanuel III of Italy
The tricolour flag was a symbol in both the trenches and in the civil sphere.[156] The colours green, white and red were widely used as a stimulus to the general mobilization and moral sustenance of the civilian population, which was climbing a path that would have led to a very difficult situation, characterized by many deprivations.[153] In the trenches, the tricolour was a fundamental symbol to spur the soldiers, while on the home front it was important for compacting and strengthening civil society.[153]
After World War I, the Italian flag was also a symbol of theImpresa di Fiume, led by D'Annunzio, and a consequence of the so-called "mutilated victory", a term used to describe the dissatisfaction concerning territorial rewards in favour of Italy at the end of World War I, shouted: "raise the flag: wave the tricolour!"[159] During theItalian Regency of Carnaro (1919–1920), a state entity that administered the city ofFiume, now part of modern-dayCroatia, D'Annunzio defined the Italian flag "the garment of the eternal nation" and urged the Italians to rebel against those responsible for thedefeat of Caporetto by waving the "tricolour across the sky".[160]
With theMarch on Rome in 1922, and the establishment of thefascist dictatorship, the Italian flag lost its symbolic uniqueness partly obscured by the iconography of the regime.[163][164] When it was used, as the symbol of theNational Fascist Party, its history was distorted, given that the tricolour was born as a symbol of freedom andcivil rights.[157] Despite this supporting role, with the royal decree nº 2072 of 24 September 1923 and subsequently with the law nº2264 of 24 December 1925, the tricolour officially became the national flag of the Kingdom of Italy.[159][160] On 31 January 1923, the salute to the flag by the students of Italian schools was instituted by theMinistry of Public Education whereby every Saturday morning, at the end of the lesson, the students paid homage to the flag with theRoman salute and with the performance of patriotic musical pieces.[160]
In 1926, the Fascist regime attempted to have the Italian national flag redesigned by having thefasces, the symbol used by the Fascist movement, included on the flag.[165] This attempt by the Fascist government to change the Italian flag to incorporate the fasces was stopped by strong opposition to the proposal by Italian monarchists.[165] The Fascist government raised the national tricolour flag along with a Fascist black flag in public ceremonies.[166][167]
TheAzione Cattolica, which made the Italian flag its banner in 1931, grouped the children of its organization dedicated to children into three categories, which were based on age group and colours of the Italian flag: "green flames", "white flames" and "red flames".[160] In August 1933, the Italianocean linerSS Rex, which had just won theBlue Riband, arrived inNew York City setting the record for Atlantic Ocean crossing in the shortest time (four days) was greeted by the waving of tricolour flags.[170]
Trains covered with tricolour flags carried the settlers to the new cities founded after the reclamation of thePontine Marshes, while on 5 May 1936 there was the solemn flag-raising inAddis Ababa,Italian Ethiopia, which greeted the founding of theItalian Empire.[171] The flag in Addis Ababa was then lowered in November 1941 at the end of theEast African campaign, which was fought duringWorld War II.[172]
Italy entered World War II on 10 June 1940 with the speech byBenito Mussolini delivered from the main balcony ofPalazzo Venezia in Rome, but the climate was different from that which characterized Italy's entry into World War I.[173] The king did not appear on the balcony of the Quirinal Palace waving the flag as he did in 1915.[173]
During World War II, the Italian flag came back strongly after theArmistice of Cassibile of 8 September 1943, where it was taken as a symbol by the two sides who faced each other in theItalian Civil War[160][174] in an attempt to recall the unification of Italy and its cultural tradition.[175] In particular, it was used by thepartisans as a symbol of the struggle against tyrants and emblem of the dream of a free Italy.[174] Even thecommunistpartisan brigades, which had thered flag as the official banner, often waved the Italian flag.[174]
This flag was rarely seen, while the war flag, charged with a silver/black eagle clutching horizontally placedfascio littorio (literally, bundles of thelictors), was very common in propaganda.[177] Italian fascism derived its name from the fasces, which symbolisedimperium, or power and authority, inancient Rome. Roman legions had carried theaquila, or eagle, assigna militaria.
The Italian tricolour was also used for propaganda. The Italian Social Republic, for example, used it on a poster depictingGoffredo Mameli, the author of the lyrics ofIl Canto degli Italiani, thenational anthem of Italy from 1946, with an unsheathed sword and a tricolour behind him while he launches towards an assault.[178] This poster bears the words "Brothers of Italy / Italy has woken!" and "1849–1944 The spirit of Goffredo Mameli/Defend the Social Republic".[178]
Flag of the Italian ethnic minority in Yugoslavia
On 25 April 1945, the government of Mussolini fell. This event is commemorated byLiberation Day. With the liberation, the tricolour appeared in public places such as the towers of town halls, on bell towers of churches, and in factories.[178] Remembering these events,Francesco Cossiga, at the timepresident of the Senate of the Republic, in a speech delivered on 28 June 1984, said:[178]
With the tricolour of Italy the homeland was resurrected and republican democracy was established, which today peacefully unites all Italians.[Note 11]
— Francesco Cossiga
In the eastern Italian territories occupied by the Yugoslav partisan militias, the Italian flag was used with a red star in the centre as a model of the flag used by the partisanGaribaldi Brigades initially in the city ofFiume in 1943, then extended to all the territories where the Italian ethnic minority (Istrian Italians andDalmatian Italians) resided. Having enteredYugoslavia, this flag remained official until 1992, when it was officially replaced by the flag adopted by the Italian state.[179][180][181]
Following the defeat of Italy in World War II and theParis Treaties of 1947,Istria,Kvarner and most ofJulian March, with the cities of Pola, Fiume and Zara, passed to Yugoslavia, and after the latter's dissolution, to Croatia, causing theIstrian-Dalmatian exodus which led to the emigration of between 230,000 and 350,000 of local ethnicItalians (Istrian Italians andDalmatian Italians), the others being ethnic Slovenians, ethnic Croatians, and ethnicIstro-Romanians, choosing to maintain Italian citizenship.[182] After World War II, Gorizia was divided in two: one part remained with Italy while the other, which was renamed "Nova Gorica", passed first to Yugoslavia and then toSlovenia.[183]
On 13 June 1946, theItalian Republic was officially founded and the lastking of ItalyUmberto II, who succeeded his father Victor Emmanuel III on 9 May 1946, left the country on 13 June into exile. On the same day, the tricolour with the Savoy coat of arms in the centre was lowered from the Quirinal Palace.[184] The Italian flag was modified with the decree of the president of the Council of Ministers No. 1 of 19 June 1946. Compared to the monarchic banner, the Savoy coat of arms was eliminated.[185][186][187] This decision was later confirmed in the session of 24 March 1947 by theConstituent Assembly, which decreed the insertion of article 12 of theItalian Constitution, subsequently ratified by theItalian Parliament, which states:[186][188][189]
[...] The flag of the Republic is the Italian tricolour: green, white, and red, in three vertical bands of equal dimensions. [...][1]
— Article 12 of Constitution of Italian Republic
The members of the Constituent Assembly were deeply moved when they approved this article, and as a sign of joy and respect, stood up and applauded at length shortly after the approval.[186] Shortly before the officialisation of the flag in the constitution, on 7 January 1947, the tricolour turned 150.[190] The role of master of ceremonies that belonged toGiosuè Carducci 50 years earlier was assumed byLuigi Salvatorelli, whose speech, uttered during the Reggio Emilia official celebrations in the presence ofEnrico De Nicola, Provisional Head of State, alluded to the delicate phase that post-war Italy was going through[190] with particular reference to the humiliations suffered by the country in World War II:[191][192]
The tricolour is not lowered, it will not be lowered. It was re-blessed, rededicated by the insurrection of the patriots, by the blood of the partisans and soldiers of Italy fighting against Nazi-fascism in the new liberation struggle.[Note 12]
— Luigi Salvatorelli
The Republican tricolour was then officially and solemnly delivered to the Italian military corps on 4 November 1947 on the occasion ofNational Unity and Armed Forces Day.[193] The universally adopted ratio is 2:3, while the war flag is squared (1:1). Eachcomune also has agonfalone bearing its coat of arms. On 27 May 1949, a law was passed that described and regulated the way the flag was displayed outside public buildings and during national holidays.[189]
The Italiannaval ensign comprises the national flag defaced with the arms of theItalian Navy; themercantile marine (and private citizens at sea) use the civil ensign, differenced by the absence of themural crown and the lion holding open the gospel, bearing the inscription,PAX TIBI MARCE EVANGELISTA MEVS instead of a sword.[195] The shield is quartered, symbolic of the four greatthalassocracies of Italy, therepubbliche marinare ofVenice (represented by the lionpassant, top left),Genoa (top right),Amalfi (bottom left), andPisa (represented by their respective crosses); therostrata crown was proposed byAdmiral Cavagnari in 1939 to acknowledge the Navy's origins in ancient Rome.[196]
In 1997, on its bicentenary, 7 January was declaredTricolour Day; it is intended as a celebration, though not a public holiday.[200] On 31 December 1996, with the same law that established the Tricolour Day, a celebration held on 7 January of each year in memory of the adoption of the red, white and green flag by the Cispadane Republic (7 January 1797), established a national committee of 20 members that would have the objective of organising the first solemn commemoration of the birth of the Italian flag.[201]
Among the events celebrating the bicentenary of the Italian flag, was the longest tricolour in history, which also entered theGuinness World Records at 7,536 square metres (81,120 sq ft) long, 4.8 metres (16 ft) wide and had an area of 7,536 square metres (81,120 sq ft), and paraded in Rome from theColosseum to theCapitoline Hill.[202]
Let us work to ensure that every family, in every home, there is a tricolour to testify the feelings that have united us since the days of the glorious unification of Italy. The tricolour is not a simple state sign, it is a banner of freedom conquered by a people who recognize themselves as united, who find their identity in the principles of brotherhood, equality, justice. In the values of its own history and civilization.[Note 13]
— Carlo Azeglio Ciampi
In 2003, a state ensign was created specifically for non-military vessels engaged in non-commercial government service whereby the Italian tricolour is defaced with thenational coat of arms.[203] Since 1914, theItalian Air Force have also used aroundel of concentric rings in the colours of the tricolour as aircraft marking, substituted, from 1923 to 1943, by encircled fasces. TheFrecce Tricolori, officially known as the 313º Gruppo Addestramento Acrobatico, is its aerobatic demonstration team.
The law n. 222 of 23 November 2012, concerning "Rules on the acquisition of knowledge and skills in the field of" Citizenship and Constitution "and on the teaching of the Mameli hymn in schools", prescribes the study in schools of the Italian flag and othernational symbols of Italy.[204]
If the flag is exposed horizontally, the green part should be placed at the hoist side, with the white one in a central position and the red one outside, while if the banner is exposed vertically the green section should be placed above.[207]
The Italian flag, using the 2003 to 2006 coloursThe Italian flag, using the 2006 colours
The need to precisely define the colours was born from an event that happened at theJustus Lipsius building, seat of theCouncil of the European Union, of theEuropean Council and of theirSecretariat, when an ItalianMEP, in 2002, noticed that the colours of the Italian flag were unrecognizable with red, for example, which had a shade that turned towards orange. For this reason the government, following the report of this MEP, decided to specifically define the colours of the Italiannational flag.[208]
The shades of green, white and red were first specified by these official documents:[208][209]
The chromatic tones of the three colours, onpolyesterstamina, are enshrined in paragraph 1 of article n. 31 "Colour definition of the colours of the flag of the Republic", of Section V "Flag of Republic, National Anthem, National Feasts and State Funeral", of Chapter II "General provisions relating to ceremonial", of the annex "Presidency of the Council of Ministers – State Ceremonial Department", to the decree of the president of the Council of Ministers of 14 April 2006 "General provisions on ceremonial and precedence between public offices", published in theGazzetta Ufficiale No. 174 of 28 July 2006.
The first version of the standard, adopted in 1965 and used until 1990 was very similar to the current version only without the red, white and green. The emblem was also much larger.[214] This version of the standard was replaced in 1990 by then PresidentFrancesco Cossiga. Cossiga's new version of the standard contained the same royal blue background but now with a squared Italian national flag in the centre and no emblem.[215] This version was short-lived as only two years later it was replaced by the 1965 standard, only with a smaller emblem.[216] This version lasted until 2000 from when it was replaced by the current version.
After the Republic was proclaimed, thenational flag was provisionally adopted as the head of state in place of the royal standard.[217] On the initiative of theMinistry of Defence, a project was prepared in 1965 to adopt a distinct flag.[218] Opportunity suggested the most natural solution was the Italian tricolour defaced with the coat of arms—but under conditions of poor visibility, this could easily be mistaken for the standard of the president of Mexico, which is also that country's national flag. The standard is kept in the custody of the Commander of the ReggimentoCorazzieri of the Arma dei Carabinieri, along with the war flag (assigned to Regiment in 1878).[219]
A separate insignia for the president of the Senate, in exercise of duties as acting head of state under Article 86, was created in 1986.[220] This has a white square on the blue field, charged with the arms of the Republic in silver. Distinguishing insignia for former presidents of the Republic was created in 2001;[221] a tricolour in the style of the presidential standard, it is emblazoned with theCypher of Honour of the president of the Republic.[222]
The standard ofpresident of the Council of Ministers of Italy, introduced for the first time in 1927 byBenito Mussolini, in its first form a littorio beam appeared in the middle of the drape. The sign was abolished in 1943, while the current one was defined in 2008 bySilvio Berlusconi. It consists of a blue drapery bordered by two gold-colored borders in the center of which stands the emblem of the Republic. The banner should be exposed to every official engagement of the president and on the vehicles that carry it, but it is almost never used. The main colours are blue and gold, which have always been considered colours linked to the command.[223]
The law, implementing Article 12 of theConstitution and following of Italy's membership of theEuropean Union, lays down the general provisions governing the use and display of the flag of the Italian Republic and theflag of European Union (in its territory).[226] In particular, in public buildings the flag of the Italian Republic, the flag of the European Union and the portrait of thepresident of the Italian Republic must be displayed in the offices of the most important Italian institutional offices.[227][228]
When displayed alongside other flags, the flag of Italy takes the position of honour; it is raised first and lowered last. Othernational flags should be arranged in alphabetical order. Where two (or more than three) flags appear together, the national flag should be placed to the right (left of the observer); in a display of three flags in line, the national flag occupies the central position. The European flag is also flown from government buildings on a daily basis. In the presence of a foreign visitor belonging to a member state, this takes precedence over the Italian flag. As a sign of mourning, flags flown externally shall be lowered tohalf-mast; two black ribbons may be attached to those otherwise displayed.[230]
The tricolour flags displayed must always be in excellent condition, fully extended and must never touch water or land.[207][231] In no case can figures and writings be written or printed on the cloth.[232] Furthermore, the Italian flag can never be used as a simple drapery or as a fabric in common use (e.g. to cover tables or as curtains).[207]
In the event ofpublic mourning the banner can be raised at half-mast and two strips of blackvelvet can be affixed to the cloth; the latter are instead mandatory[233] when the tricolour participates in funeral ceremonies.[232] In public ceremonies, the tricolour must always parade first.[234][232]
There is a precise way to fold the tricolour correctly, by taking into account the three verticalbands of which the banner is composed.[235]
The flag must be folded according to the boundaries of the colour bands: first the red band and then the green band must be folded over the white one in order to leave only the latter two colours visible; only subsequently should it be folded further in order to completely cover the red and white with green—the only colour that must be visible at the time of the closure of the cloth.[235][236][237]
Article 292 of the Italian Penal Code ("Insult or damage to the flag or other emblem of the State") protects the Italian flag by providing for thecrime of insulting it, or other banners bearing the national colours, thus providing:[238]
Anyone who vilifies the national flag or another emblem of the State with insulting expressions is punished with a fine ranging from €1,000 to €5,000. The penalty is increased from €5,000 to €10,000 if the same act is committed in occasion of a public occasion or an official ceremony.
Anyone who publicly and intentionally destroys, disperses, deteriorates, renders useless or smears the national flag or another emblem of the state is punished with imprisonment for up to two years.
For the purposes of criminal law, the national flag means the official flag of the state and any other flag bearing the national colours.[Note 14]
The flag-raising of the tricolour takes place at the first light of dawn, with the flag which is made to slide quickly and resolutely up to the end of the flagpole.[239] In the military sphere, it is announced by trumpet blasts and is performed on the notes of the national anthem.[239]
The flagship, which takes place in the evening, is instead slower and more solemn so as not to make it seem a rapid lowering.[239] The tricolour can be exposed also during the night only if the place where it is flying is conveniently illuminated.[231]
In the presence of other flags, as well as receiving the most important honour position, it must be hoisted first and lowered last.[208]
As the similarity suggests, the Italian tricolour derives from theflag of France, which was born during the French Revolution from the union of white – the colour of the monarchy – with red and blue – thecolours of Paris,[240] and which became the symbol of social and political renewal perpetrated by the originalJacobinism.[3][4][5]
Green, the first Italian tricolour cockades, symbolisednatural rights, namelysocial equality andfreedom.[11] After various events it came to 7 January 1797, the date of the adoption of the tricolour flag by theCispadane Republic, the first Italian sovereign state to make use of it.[4] During the Napoleonic period, the three colours acquired a more idealistic meaning for the population: the green representshope, the white representsfaith and the red representslove.[34][39]
Other less probable conjectures that explain the adoption of the green hypothesise a tribute that Napoleon wanted to give toCorsica, where he was born, or to a possible reference to the verdant Italian landscape.[34] For the adoption of greenery there is also the so-called "Masonic hypothesis": even forFreemasonry, green was the colour of nature, a symbol ofhuman rights, which are naturally inherent in the human being,[29] as much as of the florid Italian landscape. This interpretation is opposed by those who maintain that Freemasonry, as a secret society, did not have such an influence at the time that inspired Italian national colours.[6]
Another hypothesis that attempts to explain the meaning of the three Italian national colours would, without historical bases, be that the green is linked to the colour of the meadows and theMediterranean maquis, the white to that of the snows of theAlps and the red to the blood spilt in theWars of Italian Independence and Unification.[241][242]
A more religious and philosophical interpretation is that green representshope, white representsfaith, and red representscharity (love), in reference to thethree theological virtues.[243]
To commemorate the birth of the Italian flag, theTricolour Day was established on 31 December 1996, which is known in Italian as theFesta del Tricolore.[201] It is celebrated every year on 7 January, with the official celebrations being organised inReggio nell'Emilia, the city where the first official adoption of the tricolour was declared as anational flag by an Italian sovereign state, theCispadane Republic, which took place on 7 January 1797.[4]
There are many museums that host at least one historic Italian flag. Located throughout theItalian peninsula, they are mainly located innorthern Italy.[246]
The most important exhibition space that hosts Italian tricolour flags is found in the architectural complex of theAltare della Patria in Rome.[247] Inside the "Central Museum of the Risorgimento at the Vittoriano", there are about 700 historical flags belonging to theItalian Army,Italian Navy andItalian Air Force departments, as well as the tricolour flag with which it was wrapped in 1921 coffin of theUnknown Soldier on his journey to the Altar of the Patria.[162] The oldest tricolour preserved in the Central Museum of theRisorgimento dates back to 1860:[162] it is one of the original tricolours that flew on theLombardosteamship which, together withPiedmont steamship, participated in theexpedition of the Thousand.[116] The Vittoriano also houses the Flag Memorial (Sacrario delle Bandiere), the museum that collects and preserves disused Italianwar flags.[248]
Other exhibition spaces that also host historical tricolour flags in Rome include, the Historical Museum of theCarabinieri, the Historical Museum of theBersaglieri, the Historical Museum of theInfantry, the Historical Museum of theSardinian Grenadiers, the Historical Museum of theMilitary engineering, the Historical Museum of theGuardia di Finanza and the Historical Museum of Military Motorization.[249]
TheTricolour Flag Museum inReggio nell'Emilia, the city that saw the birth of the Italian flag in 1797, was founded in 2004. It is located within the town hall of the Emilian city, adjacent to theSala del Tricolore where documents and memorabilia attributable to the period between the arrival ofNapoleon Bonaparte in Reggio (1796) and 1897, the year of the first centenary of the Italian flag are kept.[250]
NearMantua, inSolferino, is the Museum of the Risorgimento of Solferino and San Martino, which celebrates the 1859military battle of the same name and which houses many relics of the event, including several tricolour flags.[257]
InVenice, the Museum of the Risorgimento and the Venetian 19th century preserves the tricolour flag of 1848 which greeted the expulsion of theAustrians from the city; Venice also hosts the Naval History Museum, which has an importance comparable to the homonymous exhibition space in La Spezia.[83] The description of theTriveneto museums[262] is completed by the Italian War History Museum inRovereto, dedicated to World War I, which houses many relics, including several tricolour flags; the Historical Museum ofTrento, which preserves items dedicated to theAlpini troops, the Museum of the Risorgimento and of the contemporary age inPadua,[263] the Museum of the Risorgimento and of the Resistance inVicenza.[264] InTrieste, there is the Museum of the Risorgimento and the shrine ofOberdan.[251]
InSardinia, in addition to the Museum of the Risorgimento of the State Archives inCagliari,[265] there is the Museum of the Risorgimento Duca d'Aosta inSanluri, set up at the castle ofEleonora D'Arborea, which preserves, among the numerous patriotic and the historical flags, the tricolour that on 3 November 1918 flew first in the Trieste just reconquered by Italy after the victory in World War I.[266]
Comparison of similarities of the Italian andMexican flags
The Italian national flag belongs to the family of flags derived from the French tricolour,[269] with all the meanings attached, as mentioned, to the ideals of theFrench Revolution.[5]
Due to the common arrangement of the colours, at first sight, it seems that the only difference between the Italian and theMexican flag is only thecoat of arms of Mexico present in the latter; in reality the Italian tricolour uses lighter shades of green and red, and has different proportions than the Mexican flag—those of the Italian flag are equal to 2:3, while the proportions of the Mexican flag are 4:7.[270] The similarity between the two flags posed a serious problem in maritime transport, given that originally the Mexican mercantile flag was devoid of arms and therefore was consequently identical to the Italian Republican tricolour of 1946; to obviate the inconvenience, at the request of theInternational Maritime Organization, both Italy and Mexico adopted naval flags with different crests.[224]
Also due to the Italian layout, the Italian flag is also quite similar to theflag of Ireland, with the exception of orange instead of red (although the shades used for these two colours are very similar)[271] and proportions (2:3 against 1:2).[272]
TheHungarian flag has the same colours as the Italian one, but on the Magyar banner the red, white and green tricolour is arranged horizontally.[271] Another banner chromatically similar to the Italian one is theflag of Bulgaria; similarly to the Hungarian flag, the Bulgarian banner has the white, green and red tricolour (starting from the top) in horizontal stripes, and therefore also in this case there is no confusion with the Italian tricolour.[271]
Similar to the Hungarian banner is theflag of Iran, but green and red are reversed.[273] In theflag of Madagascar green and red are in horizontal bands while white is in vertical band.[273] Theflag of Oman is similar to the Bulgarian banner, but the green and red colors are reversed (theflag of Oman may also be similar to theflag of Hungary, but the red and white colors are reversed),[273] while theflag of Tajikistan is similar to the Hungarian banner.[273]
Finally, they present other combinations of the three colours, the flags ofMadagascar,Suriname, andBurundi.[273] Theflag of Suriname has a very specific composition of horizontal tricolor bands: the central red band (loaded with a gold star) and flanked by white and green bands.[273] Theflag of Burundi instead has a whiteSaint Andrew's Cross that divides the cloth into four triangular sections, the upper and lower ones red and the lateral ones green.[273]
Garibaldi wounded in Aspromonte by an unknown author (around 1870)The first Italian flag brought to Florence by Francesco Saverio Altamura (1859)26 April 1859 by Odoardo Borrani (1861)Fighting at Litta Palace (mid 19th century) by Baldassare VerazziLittle patriots (1862) by Gioacchino TomaEpisode of the Five Days in Piazza Sant'Alessandro (late 19th century) by Carlo StragliatiGaribaldi lands in Marsala (late 19th century) by Gerolamo Induno
Famous paintings dating back to theunification of Italy whose subject revolves around the tricolour arePasquale Sottocorno assaulting the Military Engineering Palace during the Five Days of Milan (1860) byPietro Bouvier,[64]Charles Albert of Piedmont-Sardinia on the balcony of the Greppi Palace (1848) byCarlo Bossoli,[274]Little patriots (1862) byGioacchino Toma,[275]Garibaldi lands in Marsala (late 19th century),[276]The departure of the volunteers (1877–1878),[277]The departure of the Garibaldine (1860),[58]The departure of the conscripts in 1866 (1878)[278]The return of the wounded soldier (1854),[90] all byGerolamo Induno,The first Italian flag brought to Florence (1859) byFrancesco Saverio Altamura,[279]The wounded soldier (1865–1870) byAngelo Trezzini,[280]Episode of the Five Days in Piazza Sant'Alessandro byCarlo Stragliati (late 19th century),[278]Fighting at Litta Palace (half 19th century) byBaldassare Verazzi,[75]The brothers are in the field! Remembrance of Venice (1869) byMosè Bianchi,[281]The breach of Porta Pia (1880) byCarlo Ademollo,[282]On 26 April 1859 (1861) byOdoardo Borrani,[283] andGaribaldi's Burial (1862–64) byFilippo Liardo.
The tricolour often recurs in the paintings of Italian painters adhering tofuturism. In particular,Giacomo Balla has often used the symbol of the Italian flag in some patriotic works such asFlag Waving,Interventionist Demonstration andDemonstration20th September.[284]
The firstsongs on the tricolour started to be composed shortly after its official adoption on 7 January 1797.[285] The most famous popular musical composition written in this period and dedicated to the Italian flag isTo the tricolour, which reads:[286]
Tricolour the Insignia and the Standard new fire awaken us in the heart! The ringing of the trumpets is a harbinger of victories, triumphs and valor[Note 15]
— To the tricolour, unknown author
Most of the songs dedicated to the Italian flag were written during theunification of Italy.[287] The most famous isThe flag of the three colours, sung in all Italianprimary schools for decades:[287][288]
The flag of the three colours has always been the most beautiful, we always want that, we want freedom. And the yellow and black flag here he has finished reigning! The yellow and black flag here he has finished reigning! All united in one pact tight around the flag, we will shout morning and evening: long live the three colours![Note 16]
— The flag of the three colours, unknown author
During thebattle of Aspromonte (29 August 1862), the notes ofThe tricolour flag, by an unknown author, rang out;[289] the flag is also mentioned inGaribaldi's hymn, a 1859 song byLuigi Mercantini, which accompanied theExpedition of the Thousand.[290][291] Other pieces from the unification of Italy celebrating the tricolour areGiuseppe Bertoldi'sLiberation of Milan,[287]O Ardent young people by an anonymous author[287] and Luigi Mercantini'sWar Hymn of 1848–49.[287]
The 1961 songThe Flag byDomenico Modugno[294] was also dedicated to the flag. In 1965, singerIvan Della Mea recalled the tricolour as a symbol of national unity in the song9th May. The song refers to the event organized on 9 May 1965 in memory of the 20eth anniversary of theLiberation of Italy (1943–1945).[295]
In March 2007, singer-songwriterGraziano Romani published the albumThree colours, inspired by the Italian flag and the occasion in which the tricolour was adopted in his hometown,Reggio Emilia.[296]
From theAlps to theStrait brothers we are all! On the open limits, on the destroyed thrones let's plant our common three colours! Green hopes it for so many years, red the joy of having accomplished it, white the brotherly faith of love.[Note 17]
We too have our flag no longer like one dayso yellow, so black; on the white linen of our banner waving a green laurel wreath: of our tyrants in cowardly blood the area of the third colour is tinted.[Note 19]
The three colours of your flag are not three kingdoms but the whole of Italy: the white Alps, red the two volcanoes, green is the grass of theLombard planes.[Note 20]
— Francesco Dall'Ongaro,Garibaldi in Sicily, May 1860
Be blessed! Blessed in the immaculate origin, blessed in the way of trials and misfortunes for which immaculate still you proceeded, blessed in battle and victory, now and forever, forever! Do not ramp of eagles and lions, do not surmount predatory beasts, in the holy banner; but the colours of our spring and our country, fromMont Cenis toEtna; the snows of the Alps, the April of the valleys, the flames of the volcanoes. And immediately those colours spoke to generous and kind souls, with the inspirations and effects of the virtues with which the homeland stands and augusts: white, the serene faith in the ideas that make the soul divine in the constancy of the wise; green, the perpetual re-flowering of hope as the fruit of good in the youth of poets; red, the passion and blood of martyrs and heroes. And immediately the people sang to her flag that she was the most beautiful of all and that they always wanted her and with her freedom![Note 21]
— Giosuè Carducci, speech given to celebrate the 1st Centenary of the birth of the Tricolour, Reggio Emilia, 7 January 1897
^[...] Dal verbale della Sessione XIV del Congresso Cispadano: Reggio Emilia, 7 gennaio 1797, ore 11. Sala Patriottica. Gli intervenuti sono 100, deputati delle popolazioni di Bologna, Ferrara, Modena e Reggio Emilia. Giuseppe Compagnoni fa pure mozione che si renda Universale lo Stendardo o Bandiera Cispadana di tre colori, Verde, Bianco e Rosso e che questi tre colori si usino anche nella Coccarda Cispadana, la quale debba portarsi da tutti. Viene decretato. [...]
^Chiedetelo a coloro che corsero da un punto all'altro per affratellare le varie contrade, alla bandiera che sventolò tra quei moti. Quella bandiera fu la bandiera italiana; quelle prime voci erano voci di Patria e fratellanza
^[...] Raccolgaci un'unica bandiera, una speme: di fonderci insieme, già l'ora suonò. [...]
^Facciamola finita una volta con qualunque dominazione straniera in Italia. Abbracciate questa bandiera tricolore che pel valor vostro sventola sul Paese e giurate di non lasciarvela strappare mai più.
^Per viemmeglio dimostrare con segni esteriori il sentimento dell'unione italiana, vogliamo che le nostre truppe, entrando nel territorio della Lombardia e della Venezia, portino lo Scudo di Savoia sovrapposto alla bandiera tricolore italiana
^Le bandiere tricolori sventolavano sopra ogni opera, in ogni pericolo, e perché le palle nemiche non solo ne stracciavano la seta, ma rompevano il bastone, si trovava subito chi a gran rischio andava a sostituirne un'altra.
^Movete dunque fidenti nella vittoria, e di novelli allori fregiate la Vostra bandiera, quella bandiera coi tre colori e colla eletta gioventù qui da ogni parte d'Italia convenuta e sotto a lei raccolta, vi addita che avete compito vostro l'indipendenza d'Italia, questa giusta e santa impresa che sarà il vostro grido di guerraSoldati! Eccovi le vostre bandiere. Generosamente spiegate dal magnanimo Carlo Alberto, vi ricordino la patria lontana ed otto secoli di nobili tradizioni. Sappiate difenderle; riportatele coronate di nuova gloria ed i vostri sacrifici saranno benedetti dalle presenti e dalle future generazioni.
^Movete dunque fidenti nella vittoria, e di novelli allori fregiate la Vostra bandiera, quella bandiera coi tre colori e colla eletta gioventù qui da ogni parte d'Italia convenuta e sotto a lei raccolta, vi addita che avete compito vostro l'indipendenza d'Italia, questa giusta e santa impresa che sarà il vostro grido di guerra
^Soldati di terra e di mare! [...] A voi la gloria di piantare il Tricolore d'Italia su i termini sacri che natura pose a confine della Patria nostra, a voi la gloria di compiere, finalmente, l'opera con tanto eroismo iniziata dai nostri padri.
^Le nostre truppe hanno occupato Trento e sono sbarcate a Trieste. Il tricolore sventola sul castello del Buonconsiglio e sulla torre di San Giusto
^Con il tricolore d'Italia risorse la Patria e si affermò la democrazia repubblicana che oggi unisce pacificamente gli italiani tutti.
^Il tricolore non è abbassato, non sarà abbassato. Esso è stato ribenedetto, riconsacrato dalla insurrezione dei patrioti, dal sangue dei partigiani e dei soldati d'Italia combattenti contro il nazi-fascismo nella nuova lotta di liberazione.
^Adoperiamoci perché ogni famiglia, in ogni casa, ci sia un tricolore a testimoniare i sentimenti che ci uniscono fin dai giorni del glorioso Risorgimento. Il tricolore non è una semplice insegna di Stato, è un vessillo di libertà conquistata da un popolo che si riconosce unito, che trova la sua identità nei principi di fratellanza, di eguaglianza, di giustizia. Nei valori della propria storia e della propria civiltà.
^Chiunque vilipende con espressioni ingiuriose la bandiera nazionale o un altro emblema dello Stato è punito con la multa da euro 1 000 a euro 5 000. La pena è aumentata da euro 5 000 a euro 10 000 nel caso in cui il medesimo fatto sia commesso in occasione di una pubblica ricorrenza o di una cerimonia ufficiale.Chiunque pubblicamente e intenzionalmente distrugge, disperde, deteriora, rende inservibile o imbratta la bandiera nazionale o un altro emblema dello Stato è punito con la reclusione fino a due anni.Agli effetti della legge penale per bandiera nazionale si intende la bandiera ufficiale dello Stato e ogni altra bandiera portante i colori nazionali.
^Tricolore le Insegne e il Vessillo novo foco ci destano in cor! Delle trombe foriero è lo squillo di vittorie, trionfi e valor
^La bandiera dei tre colori è sempre stata la più bella, noi vogliamo sempre quella, noi vogliam la libertà. E la bandiera gialla e nera qui ha finito di regnar! La bandiera gialla e nera qui ha finito di regnar! Tutti uniti in un sol patto stretti intorno alla bandiera, griderem mattina e sera: viva, viva i tre color!
^Dall'Alpi allo Stretto fratelli siam tutti! Su i limiti schiusi, su i troni distrutti piantiamo i comuni tre nostri color! Il verde la speme tant'anni pasciuta, il rosso la gioia d'averla compiuta, il bianco la fede fraterna d'amor.
^Il bianco l'é la fede che ci incatena il rosso l'allegria dei nostri cuori ci metterò una foglia di verbena ch'io stesso alimentai di freschi umori.
^Noi pure l'abbiamo la nostra bandiera non più come un giorno sì gialla, sì nera; sul candido lino del nostro stendardo ondeggia una verde ghirlanda d'allor: de' nostri tiranni nel sangue codardo è tinta la zona del terzo color.
^I tre colori della tua bandiera non son tre regni ma l'Italia intera: il bianco l'Alpi, il rosso i due vulcani, il verde l'erba dei lombardi piani.
^Sii benedetta! Benedetta nell'immacolata origine, benedetta nella via di prove e di sventure per cui immacolata ancora procedesti, benedetta nella battaglia e nella vittoria, ora e sempre, nei secoli! Non rampare di aquile e leoni, non sormontare di belve rapaci, nel santo vessillo; ma i colori della nostra primavera e del nostro paese, dal Cenisio all'Etna; le nevi delle alpi, l'aprile delle valli, le fiamme dei vulcani. E subito quei colori parlarono alle anime generose e gentili, con le ispirazioni e gli effetti delle virtù onde la patria sta e si augusta: il bianco, la fede serena alle idee che fanno divina l'anima nella costanza dei savi; il verde, la perpetua rifioritura della speranza a frutto di bene nella gioventù de' poeti; il rosso, la passione ed il sangue dei martiri e degli eroi. E subito il popolo cantò alla sua bandiera ch'ella era la più bella di tutte e che sempre voleva lei e con lei la libertà!
^abCostituzione della Repubblica Italiana Art. 12, 22 dicembre 1947, pubblicata nellaGazzetta Ufficiale n. 298 del 27 dicembre 1947 edizione straordinaria (published in the Official Gazette [of the Italian Republic] No. 298 of 27 December 1947 extraordinary edition) "La bandiera della Repubblica è il tricolore italiano: verde, bianco, e rosso, a tre bande verticali di eguali dimensioni"
^Ferorelli, Nicola (1925)."La vera origine del tricolore italiano".Rassegna Storica del Risorgimento (in Italian).XII (fasc. III): 662.Archived from the original on 31 March 2019. Retrieved22 September 2019.
^Ferorelli, Nicola (1925)."La vera origine del tricolore italiano".Rassegna Storica del Risorgimento (in Italian).XII (fasc. III): 666.Archived from the original on 31 March 2019. Retrieved22 September 2019.
^abcFerorelli, Nicola (1925)."La vera origine del tricolore italiano".Rassegna Storica del Risorgimento (in Italian).XII (fasc. III): 668.Archived from the original on 31 March 2019. Retrieved22 September 2019.
^Giovanni Francesco Damilano,Libro familiare di me sacerdote ed avvocato Giovanni Francesco Damilano 1775–1802, Cherasco, Fondo Adriani, Historical Archive of the City of Cherasco, 1803, p. 36.
^Ghisi, EnricoIl tricolore italiano (1796–1870) Milano: Anonima per l'Arte della Stampa, 1931; see Gay, H. Nelson inThe American Historical Review Vol. 37 No. 4 (pp. 750–751), July 1932JSTOR1843352
^LoStatuto Albertino Art. 77, dato in Torino addì quattro del mese di marzo l'anno del Signore mille ottocento quarantotto, e del Regno Nostro il decimo ottavo (given in Turin on the fourth of the month of March in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and forty-eight, and of Our Reign the eighteenth)
^abFoggia della bandiera nazionale e della bandiera di combattimento delle Forze Armate decreto legislativo del Duce della Repubblica Sociale Italiana e Capo del Governo n. 141 del 28 gennaio 1944, XXII EF (GU 107 del 6 maggio 1944 XXII EF)
^Ratifica ed esecuzione del Memorandum di Intesa tra il Ministero della difesa della Repubblica italiana e il Comando Supremo delle Forze Alleate in Atlantico riguardo alla bandiera dell’unità per ricerche costiere della NATO, con annesso 1, firmato a Roma il 15 maggio 2001 ed a Norfolk il 20 giugno 2001Legge n. 321 del 24 ottobre 2003Archived 21 August 2009 at theWayback Machine (GU 271 del 21 novembre 2003)
^Article 1 of the law n. 222 of 23 November 2012 ("Rules on the acquisition of knowledge and skills in the field of" Citizenship and Constitution "and on the teaching of the Mameli hymn in schools")
^web, Segretariato generale della Presidenza della Repubblica – Servizio sistemi informatici – reparto."I Simboli della Repubblica – lo Stendardo" [The Symbols of the Republic – the Standard].Il Presidente (in Italian).Archived from the original on 8 February 2018. Retrieved26 December 2017.
^"Le funzioni del Presidente della Repubblica, in ogni caso che egli non possa adempierle, sono esercitate dal Presidente del Senato" (the functions of the president of the Republic, in all cases in which he cannot carry them out, shall be exercised by the president of the Senate)
^Decreto del presidente della Repubblica 7 aprile 2000, n. 121, articolo 6, in materia di "Regolamento recante disciplina dell'uso delle bandiere della Repubblica italiana e dell'Unione europea da parte delle amministrazioni dello Stato e degli enti pubblici"
^Legge 5 febbraio 1998, n. 22, in materia di "Disposizioni generali sull'uso della bandiera della Repubblica italiana e di quella dell'Unione europea"
Bellocchi, Ugo (2008).Bandiera madre – I tre colori della vita (in Italian). Scripta Maneant.ISBN978-88-95847-01-6.
Bovio, Oreste (1996).Due secoli di tricolore (in Italian). Ufficio storico dello Stato Maggiore dell'Esercito.SBNIT\ICCU\BVE\0116837.
Bronzini, Giovanni Battista; Dal Mestre, Luigi (1986). "La restaurazione austriaca a Milano nel 1814".Lares (in Italian).LII (3). Casa Editrice Leo S. Olschki:425–464.
Busico, Augusta (2005).Il tricolore: il simbolo la storia (in Italian). Presidenza del Consiglio dei Ministri, Dipartimento per l'informazione e l'editoria.SBNIT\ICCU\UBO\2771748.
Maiorino, Tarquinio; Marchetti Tricamo, Giuseppe; Zagami, Andrea (2002).Il tricolore degli italiani. Storia avventurosa della nostra bandiera (in Italian). Arnoldo Mondadori Editore.ISBN978-88-04-50946-2.
Tarozzi, Fiorenza; Vecchio, Giorgio (1999).Gli italiani e il tricolore (in Italian). Il Mulino.ISBN88-15-07163-6.
Tobia, Bruno (2011).L'Altare della Patria (in Italian). Il Mulino.ISBN978-88-15-23341-7.
Vecchio, Giorgio (2003)."Il tricolore".Almanacco della Repubblica (in Italian). Bruno Mondadori. pp. 42–55.ISBN88-424-9499-2.
Villa, Claudio (2010).I simboli della Repubblica: la bandiera tricolore, il canto degli italiani, l'emblema (in Italian). Comune di Vanzago.SBNIT\ICCU\LO1\1355389.
.svg)
_crowned.svg)
.svg)
.svg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
_(5799312802).jpg)
.svg)
.svg)
.svg)
.svg)
.svg)
.svg)
.svg)
![Flag of the National Republican Army (1 December 1943 to 7 May 1945)[205]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aBandiera_di_combattimento_per_le_Forze_Armate_della_Repubblica_Sociale_Italiana.svg)
.svg)
.svg)
.svg)
.svg)
.svg)
.svg)
![Jack of the (former) Regia Marina[225]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aNaval_jack_of_Italy_(1879-ca._1900).svg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
_-_Foto_Giovanni_Dall%2527Orto_-_20_jan_2007.jpg)
.jpg)
