FLAG OF ITALY: HISTORY AND MEANING - CULTURE VOCABULARY

The flag of Italy is the national patriotic symbol of this country member of the European Union. The pavilion is made up of three vertical stripes of green, white and red, in order from left to right. The flag is the official one in the country since 1946, but the composition of colors had been used by the Kingdom of Italy since 1861. However, the origins of the flag date back to 1797.

Italy did not exist as a unified state throughout the Italian peninsula until 1861. Before that, different symbols waved across the territory. The origin of the colors comes from the first Italian cockades in the 18th century. At first, its origin was inspired by the French Revolution and its tricolor.

Italian flag. (See below.).

The green in the first initial cockades symbolized natural rights, equality and freedom. However, later the flag acquired a less epic meaning, with green representing hope, white representing faith and red representing love.

The Italian flag came to represent the entire peninsula in the Unification of Italy. Both the monarchy and fascism added symbols inherent to those systems.

History of the flag

The unified Italian state throughout the entire peninsula was a purpose for many centuries before its realization. The territory used to be divided between different kingdoms in the north of the country, the Papal States in the central part and the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, dependent on the House of Bourbon, in the south of the peninsula and the island of Sicily.

French inspiration

From the beginning, the inspiration for the Italian flag was the French one, which emerged after the Revolution at the end of the 18th century. At first, the colors of the French Revolution came through the cockades.

The French revolutionary journalist, Camille Desmoulines, in 1789 raised the color green over blue as a symbol of the Revolution, having the support of the demonstrators in Paris. However, over time blue replaced it as green was related to the brother of the French monarch.

The blue, white and red French flag became a benchmark for the Italian Jacobins. Part of the Italian population began to make green, white and red cockades, amidst confusion over the colors used in France, caused by the publication of information in gazettes.

Later, the Jacobins became comfortable with the choice of green, representing natural rights, as well as nature, equality and freedom. The first record of a tricolor cockade was in the Republic of Genoa on August 21, 1789, just over a month after the Storming of the Bastille.

Bologna riots in 1794

Many Italian protesters believed that these were the colors of the French Revolution and the tricolor had no implications for Italian political life. However, in 1794 there was an insurrectional movement at the University of Bologna, led by the students Luigi Zamboni and Giovanni De Rolandis. The objective was to shed the dominance of the Papal States

Zamboni proposed creating a tricolor pavilion for United Italy. In addition to white and red, colors of the city, he proposed including green, as a sign of the hope that the revolution could take place throughout Italy. The leader was found dead after being arrested and the movement failed.

However, the rise of Zamboni and De Rolandis served to position a symbol for united Italy. Although there are conflicting opinions, from that date the tricolor cockades began their ascending path to popularity.

Cockade of Italy. (Luigib25).

Origin of the flag

The colors of the Italian flag come from the cockade inspired by the French tricolor. However, the first record of a tricolor flag was at the time of Napoleon Bonaparte's arrival on the Italian peninsula. This occurred in the Italian Campaign (1796-1797), when French troops faced the Holy Roman Empire and the Papal States.

During this conflict, the Italian Jacobins participated together with the Napoleonic troops. When the French won, different states were formed throughout the peninsula, such as the Piedmontese Republic, the Cispadan Republic, the Transpadan Republic, the Republic or the Roman Republic.

Piedmont was the first territory to be conquered by Bonaparte. In the historical archive of the Piedmontese municipality of Cherasco there is a document that states that on May 13, 1796 and after a territorial exchange, a banner with the three current colors began to be used.

Lombard Legion

The concept of a unified flag for Italy came from the hand of the French. Although at first there was reluctance to adopt it as it was the flag that a foreign army had brought, over time it began to become a symbol of unique strength. The first official tricolor flag also came by French order.

On October 11, 1796, Napoleon Bonaparte decreed the creation of the Lombard Legion. It was a military unit to administer Lombardy, within the framework of the Transpadan Republic.

His war flag, proposed by Napoleon, was a green, white and red tricolor with the symbol of the new state in the center. This was formed by the inscription Legione Lombarda, an oak crown with a Phrygian cap with a Masonic symbol.

With the triumph of the revolutionaries, in many cities tricolor began to be used as a symbol of the new movement that the peninsula was experiencing.

Flag of the Hunters on Horseback of the Lombard Legion. (1796). (ShortFrancese).

Cispadana republic

The Napoleonic troops deposed the monarchy in Modena and Reggio, before which the Reggian Republic was proclaimed in August 1796. Their flag was the same current French tricolor. Before the victory in the north, Napoleon proposed to the cispadan cities to meet in a congress.

In December of that year, representatives of the different cities approved the constitutional charter of the Cispadan Republic, with territories in Bologna, Ferrara, Modena and Reggio Emilia. After the creation of this new state, different decisions were made, among which was the choice of a new flag.

Giuseppe Compagnoni, considered today as the father of the flag, promoted the adoption of a green, white and red tricolor. Although the Jacobins preferred the blue of the French tricolor and those in favor of the Church wanted the yellow of the Papal States, green was finally imposed as a distinctive color.

Although there was no standard that established the characteristics of the flag, it was presented as a horizontal striped banner with red at the top. In the center there was a shield with the initials R and C. The four arrows on the shield represented the four cities that made up the country.

Banner of the cispadan Republic. (1796-1797). (derivative work).

Cisalpine republic

The popularity of the tricolor flag was growing steadily in different cities such as Venice, Brescia or Padua. In 1797 the Cispadana Republic joined with another Bonapartist satellite state such as the Transpadana Republic. This led to the creation of the Cisalpine Republic, which became one of the strongest states on the Italian Peninsula with its capital in the city of Milan.

Although initially the flag with horizontal stripes was maintained, on May 11, 1798 the Great Council of this republic approved a tricolor with the colors vertically. The flag began to gain notoriety with more population and was vigorously defended by military troops.

Flag of the Cisalpine Republic. (1798-1802). (PavelD).

Italian Republic (1802-1805)

The French occupation continued to be the protagonist of the Italian tricolor. The satellite state of the Cisalpine Republic became the Italian Republic in 1802. Despite its name, this state only inherited the territories of its predecessor in the north of the peninsula.

With the creation of the new state and the proclamation of Napoleon Bonaparte as its president, a new flag was approved. This consisted of a red square within which a white rhombus was presented, containing a green square inside. This change was promoted by the vice president of the country, Francesco Melzi d'Eril, who even tried to eliminate the green of the pavilion.

Flag of the Italian Republic. (1802-1805). (Gennaro Prota).

Kingdom of Italy (1805-1814)

Napoleon Bonaparte was crowned emperor in France and this led to a change in the political regime in his Italian satellite state. Thus, the Italian Republic was transformed in 11805 into the Kingdom of Italy, with Napoleon as its monarch. The change in state form led to a modification in the perception of symbols, since the French tricolor was gradually and steadily reintroduced.

Despite the fact that the flag of France became predominant, the Kingdom of Italy maintained its own symbol, with the same composition as the Republican flag. To this was added a golden eagle with the letter N, representing Napoleon.

Flag of the Kingdom of Italy. (1805-1814). (SodacanQuesta grafica vettoriale non W3C-specificata è stata creata with Inkscape.).

Return to absolutism

Europe witnessed the end of Napoleon Bonaparte, and with him, the fall of the vast empire that he had formed on the continent, before which a return to monarchical absolutism took place.

When the Bonapartist satellite state fell on the peninsula, the Italian tricolor went into hiding. Since then, the process of the Unification of Italy or Risorgimento (Resurgence) began.

At first, the tricolor flag was a symbol of Bonapartism. For example, in the Lombard-Veneto Kingdom that replaced the Napoleonic kingdom, the use of the tricolor flag was condemned with the death penalty.

Giovine Italy

Although there is no historical consensus, it is estimated that the resumption in the use of the tricolor was on March 11, 1821 in the Piedmontese riots. Another important demonstration was in the Giovine Italia (Young Italy), which arose from riots between 1830 and 1831 led by Ciro Menotti.

The purpose of this movement was to form a single state on the peninsula with a monarch chosen by a congress. Giuseppe Mazzini endowed this revolutionary movement with a symbol, which was the tricolor with horizontal stripes. In the central white stripe the inscription UNIONE, FORZA E LIBERTA '! (Union, Strength and Freedom)

Flag of the Giovine Italy. (1831). (self-created).

It was the symbolism of the Mazzini flag by which the Italian tricolor achieved more popularity in the peninsula and began to be known in the central part. Giuseppe Garibaldi, who would become the father of the Italian country, carried a flag of the Giovine Italia with him when he went into exile. In addition, the flag began to be used in many revolts and insurrections against different governments and states.

Spring of the Peoples

Italian political history took a 180 degree turn with the revolutions of 1848. These movements developed throughout Europe against the ruling absolutisms and were experienced with particular intensity on the Italian peninsula.

The Italian tricolor flag had particular relevance in the five days of Milan, in which insurgents faced the government led by the Austrian Empire. Rosettes were also frequently used. The tricolor was the official flag of the provisional Government of Milan, of short duration.

Kingdom of Sardinia

On May 4, 1848, the Albertine Statute was signed in the city of Turin. This was the fundamental law of this monarchy, directed by the House of Savoy. After its first modification, this statute accepted the composition of the first flag, since the blue color that identified this country changed to green, white and red.

King Carlos Alberto de Savoya during the first war of independence of Italy decided to use the tricolor flag with the shield of his dynasty in the central part. This was done in order to build confidence in the Lombards, whose government was Austrian, to achieve Italian union.

The unification of the peninsula continued to be articulated through the institutionalization of the Italian language in the kingdom of Sardinia. In addition, this monarchy established the tricolor on its boats. From June 9, 1848 it became the official flag of the Kingdom of Sardinia.

Flag of the Kingdom of Sardinia. (F lanker).

Kingdom of the Two Sicilies

The reality of Italian unity was slow and gradual, but the tricolor was one of the first ways in which it manifested itself. In the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, located in the southern half of the peninsula and on the island of Sicily, the revolutions of 1848 were also particularly relevant.

King Ferdinand II of Bourbon promoted a constitutional change in 1848, which included a modification to the flag. Traditionally this country had used the white color as a hallmark of the Bourbon house, but the colors red and green were added in the form of a frame. The symbol kept the Bourbon shield on a white background in the center.

Flag of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. (1848-1849). (F lanker).

The revolutionary movement in this territory generated a split in Palermo that same year, proclaiming the Kingdom of Sicily. This was kept for about a year and also adopted the tricolor flag with the trinacria, symbol of Sicily, in the central part.

Flag of the Kingdom of Sicily. (1848-1849). (Delehaye).

Republic of San Marcos

Venice was not exempt from the revolutionary movement on the peninsula in 1848. In this way, the Republic of San Marcos was proclaimed independent, thus freeing itself from Austrian rule. The national symbol of this country also adopted the Italian tricolor, but with the winged lion in the canton, as a symbol of Venice.

Flag of the Republic of San Marcos. (1848-1849). (Jolle).

Grand Duchy of Tuscany

Another of the states of the Italian peninsula was the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. In it, Grand Duke Leopold II of Habsburg-Lorraine decided not to adopt the tricolor flag after the constitutional change of 1848, although he incorporated it for use by the militias.

However, and after the pressure received, the Grand Duke adopted the Italian flag with the country's coat of arms in the central part. Its use was maintained until the first war of independence in 1849, when it was returned to the previous ones until the conquest of the Savoy.

Flag of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. (1848-1849). (Flag drawn by Jaume Ollé, from FOTW Flags Of The World website).

Roman Republic

The central part of the peninsula was occupied by the Papal States, dependent on the papacy. However, the revolutions of 1848 also influenced them, although they did not incorporate the Italian tricolor. Some army troops wore tricolor ties, but this was opposed by the German branch of the Catholic Church.

In 1849 the Roman Republic was constituted, which deposed the authority of the pope. Its flag was the Italian tricolor with the inscription Dio e Popolo (God and People) in the center. The duration of this republic was ephemeral, due to the fact that French troops finished it after five months.

Flag of the Roman Republic (1948), (By F lanker (rep_romana.jpg), via Wikimedia Commons)

Second war of independence

After the revolutionary attempt in 1848, the only place where the tricolor flag survived was in the Kingdom of Sardinia. The reunifying feeling continued to increase, until in January 1859 the Kingdom of Sardinia went to war with the Austrian Empire, in what would later be called the Second War of Independence.

The tricolor began to wave as the troops of the Kingdom of Sardinia advanced. For this reason, in Florence the tricolor flag was used after the departure of the Grand Duke until they were annexed to Sardinia in 1860. The flag quickly became popular in the regions of central Italy, although it took longer in the large cities.

The war ended with the control of the peninsula by the troops of the House of Savoy led by Giuseppe Garibaldi, as well as the island of Sicily. However, the Bourbon monarch tried to regain the support of the population by changing his flag to the tricolor, but keeping the shield in the central part.

Flag of the Kingdom of Sicily. (1860). (Flanker).

Kingdom of italy

On March 17, 1861, the Kingdom of Italy was proclaimed, establishing as its monarch the then King of Sardinia, Victor Emmanuel II. The tricolor with the coat of arms of the House of Savoy remained the national symbol, although it was now used in more rectangular dimensions.

In 1866 the third war of independence took place. In it, the Veneto was incorporated into the Kingdom of Italy. The town of Vincenza in this region had previously adopted the tricolor as a symbol. Finally, the Reindeer troops of Italy occupied Rome in 1870 and the city became the capital of the country by 1871.

Since July 6 of that year, the tricolor flag has flown in the Quirinal Palace, seat of the Head of State. That implied the total unification of the Italian peninsula. Uninterruptedly, the flag remained until the final hours of World War II.

Flag of the Kingdom of Italy. (1861-1943). (F lanker).

The Italian national symbol became indisputably consolidated over time, being represented in wars, food dishes, sports uniforms and even celebrating its first centenary in 1897.

Fascism and World War II

The Second World War was the only scenario that definitively upset the prevailing Italian political system, and with it, its flags. Before that, the dictatorship established by Benito Mussolini in the country had resignified the Italian flag. This began to be raised along with black flags, typical of fascism.

Despite having displaced the prominence of the flag, in 1923 and 1924 laws were issued to establish the tricolor as the official flag of the Kingdom of Italy. In addition, fascism imposed homages to the flag with the Roman salute. It was also used in the new colonial conquest in Africa: Ethiopia.

The Savoy monarchy was tolerant and participant in the actions of Benito Mussolini in power. For this reason, her shield always remained on the flag until 1943. In that year the Armistice of Cassibile was signed, by which the Kingdom of Italy laid down its arms before the Allies.

Italian Social Republic

With the support of the Nazi army, Mussolini managed to partially recover the territory before the surrender of the monarchy. Thus was born the Italian Social Republic, also known as the Republic of Saló.

This state kept the tricolor flag as a national symbol, but its war flag was the most widespread. This symbol included a black Roman imperial eagle on a mustard-colored fascio.

War flag of the Italian Social Republic. (1943-1945). (F lanker).

National Liberation Committee

The Italian resistance was articulated in different ways. One of them was the Committee for National Liberation, established in 1943 and dissolved in 1947. This organization was political and military in nature and also used a tricolor flag. The difference was that in its central part they included a star with the initials CLN.

Flag of the National Liberation Committee. (1943-1947). (F lanker).

Italian Republic

The end of the Second World War in Italy led to the change of the political system. Through a referendum, the monarchy was abolished and the Italian Republic was born. On June 19, 1946, through a decree of the president of the council of ministers, the Italian flag was changed, eliminating the coat of arms of the Savoy.

In the commission for the constitution that was in charge of the writing of this text, the incorporation of a new shield in the central part was proposed, but this did not materialize. Finally, the flag was included in article 12 of the Constitution of the Italian Republic. This article was approved without further debate and was received with jubilation and a standing ovation.

Presidential banner

In 1947, the Italian flag turned 150 years old. Two years later, in 1949, a law was passed that determined the composition of the banner of the President of the Italian Republic. This one was inspired by the flag of the first Italian Republic (1802-1805), but with a blue border. In addition, the shield was incorporated in the central part.

Banner of the President of the Italian Republic. (F lanker).

Tonality changes

The only official definition of the Italian flag was established in article 12 of the constitution, which generated confusion in the shades of the colors. In 2002, an Italian MEP noticed that the red in the flag was more similar to orange. As a consequence of this, the government established the official colors that same year.

The 2002 flag featured a bright meadow green, a milk white and a tomato red. They all had a specific color on the Pantone scale.

Flag of the Italian Republic. (2002-2004). (Zscout370).

In 2004 there was a new change in the national flag. The green became a fern green, accompanied by a bright white and scarlet red. These shades are the ones that remain in force today.

Meaning of the Italian flag

The history of the colors of the Italian flag is long and their meanings have been diverse. Its origin in the cockade tried to represent the ideals of freedom of the French Revolution, as many thought that this was the flag used in that movement. In that case, white was the color of the monarchy while red and blue were the ones that identified the city of Paris.

In the cockade the interpretation of the colors varied, as natural rights became the greatest representative of the color green, with equality and freedom ahead. During the Napoleonic period, tricolor flags represented hope in green, faith in white, and love in red.

As is customary in national flags, the Italian flag also has an interpretation referring to its landscapes. She assigns the green color to represent the meadows. Instead, the white would be the snow of the mountains, and the red, also as is traditional, would represent the blood shed by Italian soldiers in the multiple conflicts that the country has gone through.

References

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Corsentino, G. (December 14, 2016). Il verde no, perché è il colore del re. Così la Francia has scelto la bandiera blu, bianca e rossa ispirandosi all'America, Italia Oggi. Recovered from italiaoggi.it.
Costituzione della Repubblica Italiana. (1947). Article 12. Recovered from senato.it.
Ferorelli, N. (1925). The vera originates from the Italian tricolor. Rassegna storica del Risorgimento, vol. XII, fasc. III. Recovered from risorgimento.it.
Fiorini, V. (1897). The origini of the Italian tricolore. Nuova Antologia di scienze lettere e arti, vol. LXVII. Recovered from archive.org.
Presidenza della Repubblica. (sf). I Simboli della Repubblica - il Tricolore. Presidenza della Repubblica. Recovered from quirinale.it.
Smith, W. (2013). Flag of Italy. Encyclopædia Britannica, inc. Recovered from britannica.com. Taken from ajicjournal.org.

FLAG OF ITALY: HISTORY AND MEANING - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025