Flag of Italy

Flag origins

Italy’s flag, the Tricolore, has three vertical bands of green, white and red running from the flagpole outward. Article 12 of the current Constitution specifies three equally wide vertical bands in these colors. Green is often said to represent the land, white the snow of the Alps, and red blood shed for independence. These interpretations, however, were not the official origins of the flag when it first appeared. Historically, white and red came from Milan’s old civic emblem, a red cross on white, while green was the color of the uniforms of Milan’s civic militia. The colors appeared together on military banners. On January 7, 1797, the Cispadane Republic in northern Italy formally adopted green, white and red, creating a direct ancestor of today’s flag. The vertical tricolour design was strongly influenced by France. Republics established in northern Italy during Napoleon’s campaigns frequently adopted flags modeled on the French revolutionary tricolour.

Flag story

Italy’s flag has not always consisted solely of green, white and red. After the Kingdom of Italy was established in 1861, the national flag included the House of Savoy’s coat of arms at its center, making the royal-era flag more elaborate than today’s version. When the monarchy was abolished and Italy became a republic in 1946, the royal arms were removed. In 1947, the Constituent Assembly approved the present plain tricolour. The parliamentary record even describes members and spectators rising to their feet in prolonged applause at the vote. January 7, the date on which the first Tricolore was adopted, is now Italy’s National Flag Day, the Giornata nazionale della Bandiera.

Editorial notes and references

Edited by ABELHA WORKS. The English text translates the administrator-edited Japanese description. Legends should be distinguished from documented history. General reference links do not substantiate every statement in the text.

• Italy — general information on Wikipedia
• Japan MOFA: countries and regions (Japanese)

Report an error