Flag of Vatican City

Flag origins

Vatican City’s flag has two vertical bands, yellow on the left and white on the right. The white band bears two crossed keys and the papal tiara, or triple crown. Vatican City’s official website describes this as the national flag’s formal design. The keys represent the keys of heaven said to have been entrusted by Christ to the apostle Peter. The gold key symbolizes authority in heaven, the silver key the pope’s spiritual authority on earth, and the cord joining them their connection. Yellow and white also have a close historical connection with the papacy. The Papal States formerly used yellow and reddish colors. In 1808, Pope Pius VII ordered troops loyal to him to wear white-and-yellow insignia, distinguishing them from units incorporated into the French army. This was the origin of the colors of the later papal flag. The present form was established with the creation of Vatican City under the Lateran Treaty of 1929 and was first flown on June 8 that year.

Flag story

The yellow and white of Vatican City’s flag trace their roots to identifying opposing sides during the Napoleonic era. In 1808, some Papal States troops were incorporated into the French forces occupying Rome. To distinguish guards and troops loyal to him from French-aligned units using the traditional colors, Pope Pius VII gave his loyal units new yellow-and-white insignia. A papal flag divided diagonally into yellow and white is documented in 1824. The design later became a vertical bicolour, and the founding of Vatican City in 1929 established the flag that developed into today’s version.

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.

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

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