Festa del Tricolore
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Tricolour Day ( it, Festa del Tricolore), officially National Flag Day ( it, Giornata Nazionale della Bandiera), is the flag day of Italy. Celebrated on 7 January, it was established by Law 671 on 31 December 1996. It is intended as a celebration, though not a public holiday. The official celebration of the day is held in
Reggio Emilia Reggio nell'Emilia ( egl, Rèz; la, Regium Lepidi), usually referred to as Reggio Emilia, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, and known until 1861 as Reggio di Lombardia, is a city in northern Italy, in the Emilia-Romagna region. It has abou ...
, the city where the
Italian tricolour The national flag of Italy ( it, Bandiera d'Italia, ), often referred to in Italian as ''il Tricolore'' ( en, the Tricolour, ) is a tricolour featuring three equally sized vertical pales of green, white and red, national colours of Italy, with ...
was first adopted as flag by an Italian sovereign state, the Cispadane Republic, on 7 January 1797.


History

The day was established by law n. 671 of 31 December 1996 with the intention of celebrating the bicentenary of the birth in Reggio nell'Emilia of the Italian flag, which officially took place, as already mentioned, on 7 January 1797 with the official adoption of the Tricolour by the Cispadana Republic, a
sister republic A sister republic (french: république sœur) was a republic established by French armies or by local revolutionaries and assisted by the First French Republic during the French Revolutionary Wars. These republics, though nominally independent, ...
of the
French First Republic In the history of France, the First Republic (french: Première République), sometimes referred to in historiography as Revolutionary France, and officially the French Republic (french: République française), was founded on 21 September 1792 ...
born the previous year.The tri-coloured standard
Getting to Know Italy, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (retrieved 5 October 2008)
Previously, the Italian national colours had already appeared on the tricolour cockades and on some military banners but on 7 January 1797, for the first time, the Tricolour was officially adopted by an Italian sovereign State. To suggest the adoption of a green, white and red flag was
Giuseppe Compagnoni Marco Giuseppe Compagnoni (3 March 1754 – 29 December 1833) was an Italian constitutionalist, writer and journalist, considered the "father of the Italian flag", since he was the first to propose the official use of the Italian tricolour for t ...
, who for this reason is known as the "Father of the Tricolour". In the minutes of the meeting of 7 January 1797 which was convened by the founding committee of the Cispadane Republic and which took place in a room of the town hall later renamed
Sala del Tricolore The Sala del Tricolore (Italian for "Room of the Tricolor"), formerly the Patriotic Hall, is an historical hall that currently serves as the council chamber of the ''comune'' of Reggio Emilia, northern Italy. It was designed by the architect L ...
, it can be read: 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. 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. In the assembly of 21 January, which was instead convened in
Modena Modena (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language#Dialects, Modenese, Mòdna ; ett, Mutna; la, Mutina) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern I ...
, the adoption of the Tricolour was confirmed. The flag of the Cispadane Republic was in horizontal bands with the top red, the white in the center and the green at the bottom. In the center was also the emblem of the republic, while on the sides the letters "R" and "C" were shown, the initials of the two words that form the name of the "''Repubblica Cispadana''". The Cispadane and
Transpadana Cisalpine Gaul ( la, Gallia Cisalpina, also called ''Gallia Citerior'' or ''Gallia Togata'') was the part of Italy inhabited by Celts (Gauls) during the 4th and 3rd centuries BC. After its conquest by the Roman Republic in the 200s BC it was con ...
republics merged a few months later to form the Cisalpine Republic, whose Grand Council, on 11 May 1798, adopted a tricolour flag in vertical bands with no crests, emblems or letters. The flag of the Cisalpine Republic was maintained until 1802, when it was renamed the Napoleonic Italian Republic (1802–1805), and a new flag was adopted, this time with a red field carrying a green square within a white
lozenge Lozenge or losange may refer to: * Lozenge (shape), a type of rhombus *Throat lozenge, a tablet intended to be dissolved slowly in the mouth to suppress throat ailments *Lozenge (heraldry), a diamond-shaped object that can be placed on the field of ...
; the Presidential Standard of Italy in use since 14 October 2000 was inspired by this flag. It was during this period that the green, white and red tricolour predominantly penetrated the collective imagination of the Italians, becoming an unequivocal symbol of Italianness. 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. In the same year, after Napoleon had crowned himself as the first
French Emperor Emperor of the French ( French: ''Empereur des Français'') was the title of the monarch and supreme ruler of the First and the Second French Empires. Details A title and office used by the House of Bonaparte starting when Napoleon was procl ...
, the Italian Republic was transformed into the first
Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy (1805–1814; it, Regno d'Italia; french: Royaume d'Italie) was a kingdom in Northern Italy (formerly the Italian Republic) in personal union with Napoleon I's French Empire. It was fully influenced by revolutionary Franc ...
(1805–1814), or ''Italico'', 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. This remained in use until the fall of Napoleon in 1814. With the fall of Napoleon and the restoration of the absolutist monarchical regimes, the Italian tricolour went underground, becoming the symbol of the patriotic ferments that began to spread in Italy and the symbol which united all the efforts of the Italian people towards freedom and independence. In the Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia, a state dependent on the Austrian Empire born after the fall of Napoleon, those who exhibited the Italian tricolour were subject to the
death penalty Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...
. The Austrians' objective was in fact, quoting the textual words of Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria: "''
he tricolour was banned to He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' in ...
make people forget that they are Italian.''" After the Napoleonic era, the Tricolour became a symbol of the Unification of Italy struggle. It was in fact adopted during the
revolutions of 1820 Revolutions during the 1820s included revolutions in Russia (Decembrist revolt), Spain, Portugal, and Italy for constitutional monarchies, and for independence from Ottoman rule in Greece. Unlike the revolutionary wave in the 1830s, these tende ...
, the revolutions of 1830, the revolutions of 1848, the
First Italian War of Independence The First Italian War of Independence ( it, Prima guerra d'indipendenza italiana), part of the Italian Unification (''Risorgimento''), was fought by the Kingdom of Sardinia (Piedmont) and Italian volunteers against the Austrian Empire and other ...
, the Second Italian War of Independence, the Expedition of the Thousand and the Third Italian War of Independence. With the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, the green, white and red flag became the national flag of a united Italy. The Tricolour had a universal, transversal meaning, shared by both monarchists and
republicans Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
,
progressives Progressivism holds that it is possible to improve human societies through political action. As a political movement, progressivism seeks to advance the human condition through social reform based on purported advancements in science, techno ...
and conservatives and Guelphs as well as by the Ghibellines. The Tricolour was chosen as the flag of a united Italy also for this reason. On 13 June 1946, the Italian Republic was officially founded. 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 Savoy (; frp, Savouè ; french: Savoie ) is a cultural-historical region in the Western Alps. Situated on the cultural boundary between Occitania and Piedmont, the area extends from Lake Geneva in the north to the Dauphiné in the south. Savo ...
coat of arms was eliminated. This decision was later confirmed in the session of 24 March 1947 by the Constituent Assembly, which decreed the insertion of article 12 of the Italian Constitution, subsequently ratified by the Italian Parliament, which states: 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.


Celebrations

On 31 December 1996, with the same law that established the Tricolour Festival, a National Committee of twenty members was set up with the aim of organizing the first solemn commemoration of the birth of the Italian flag.Article 1 of the law n. 671 of 31 December 1996 ("National celebration of the bicentenary of the first national flag") The committee was composed of institutional personalities, including the presidents of the chambers, and members from civil society, particularly from the historical and cultural sphere. At that time it was also proposed not to celebrate the date, or even to modify the flag itself, hypotheses scarcely accepted by the members of the Parliament. In Reggio nell'Emilia, the Festa del Tricolore is celebrated in Piazza Prampolini, in front of the town hall, in the presence of one of the most important officers of the State (the President of Italy or the president of one of the chambers), who attends the 'flag-raising on the notes of '' Il Canto degli Italiani'' and which renders military honors a reproduction of the flag of the Cispadane Republic. In Rome, at the Quirinal Palace, the ceremonial foresees instead the change of the
Guard of honour A guard of honour ( GB), also honor guard ( US), also ceremonial guard, is a group of people, usually military in nature, appointed to receive or guard a head of state or other dignitaries, the fallen in war, or to attend at state ceremonials, ...
in solemn form with the deployment and the parade of the Corazzieri Regiment in gala uniform and the Fanfare of the
Carabinieri Cavalry Regiment The 4th Carabinieri Mounted Regiment ( it, 4° Reggimento Carabinieri a Cavallo) is an Italian Carabinieri mounted police unit of the 1st Carabinieri Mobile Brigade. The regiment is tasked with riot control and rural patrol. It was formed on 1 ...
. This solemn rite is carried out only on three other occasions, during the celebrations of the Anniversary of the Unification of Italy (17 March), of the Festa della Repubblica (2 June) and of the
National Unity and Armed Forces Day National Unity and Armed Forces Day is an Italian national day since 1919 which commemorates the victory in World War I, a war event considered the completion of the process of unification of Italy. It is celebrated every 4 November, which is the ...
(4 November).


See also

*
Flag of Italy The national flag of Italy ( it, Bandiera d'Italia, ), often referred to in Italian as ''il Tricolore'' ( en, the Tricolour, ) is a tricolour (flag), tricolour featuring three equally sized vertical Pale (heraldry), pales of green, white and red, ...
*
Flags of Napoleonic Italy The Flags of Napoleonic Italy were the green, white and red tricolour flags and banners in use in Italy during the Napoleonic era, which lasted from 1796 to 1814. During this period, on 7 January 1797, the green, white and red tricolour was offici ...
* National colours of Italy *
Public holidays in Italy Public holidays in Italy are established by the Italian parliament and, with the exception of city or community patronal days, apply nationwide. These include a mix of national, religious and local observances. As for Whit Monday, there is an e ...
* Anniversary of the Unification of Italy * Anniversary of the Liberation * Festa della Repubblica *
National Memorial Day of the Exiles and Foibe National Memorial Day of the Exiles and Foibe, or ''Giorno del ricordo'' in Italian language (English: Day of Remembrance), is an Italian celebration for the memory of the Foibe massacres, victims of the Foibe and the Istrian–Dalmatian exodus, wh ...
*
National Unity and Armed Forces Day National Unity and Armed Forces Day is an Italian national day since 1919 which commemorates the victory in World War I, a war event considered the completion of the process of unification of Italy. It is celebrated every 4 November, which is the ...


Citations


References

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External links

* * * * * {{National symbols of Italy Public holidays in Italy January observances Flag days