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The flag of Italy (, ), often referred to as The Tricolour (, ), is a flag featuring three equally sized vertical pales of green, white and red, with the green at the hoist side, as defined by Article 12 of the
Constitution of the Italian Republic The Constitution of the Italian Republic () was ratified on 22 December 1947 by the Constituent Assembly, with 453 votes in favour and 62 against, before coming into force on 1 January 1948, one century after the previous Constitution of the Ki ...
. Costituzione della Repubblica Italiana Art. 12, 22 dicembre 1947, pubblicata nella
Gazzetta Ufficiale The ''Gazzetta Ufficiale della Repubblica Italiana'' () is the official journal of record of the Italian government. It is published by the Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato in Rome. Function The ''Gazzetta Ufficiale'' promulgates acts ...
n. 298 del 27 dicembre 1947 edizione straordinaria (published in the Official Gazette f the Italian RepublicNo. 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"
The Italian law regulates its use and display, protecting its defense and providing for the crime of insulting it; it also prescribes its teaching in Italian schools together with other
national symbols of Italy National symbols of Italy are the symbols that uniquely identify Italy reflecting its history and culture. They are used to represent the nation through emblems, metaphors, personifications, allegories, which are shared by the entire Italian peo ...
. The Italian
Flag Day A flag day is a flag-related holiday, a day designated for flying a certain flag (such as a national flag) or a day set aside to celebrate a historical event such as a nation's adoption of its flag. Flag days are usually codified in national s ...
named Tricolour 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, the Cispadane Republic, a Napoleonic
sister republic Sister republics (, ) were republics established by the French First Republic or local pro-French revolutionaries during the French Revolutionary Wars. Though nominally independent, sister republics were heavily reliant on French protection, m ...
of Revolutionary France, which took place in
Reggio Emilia Reggio nell'Emilia (; ), usually referred to as Reggio Emilia, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, and known until Unification of Italy, 1861 as Reggio di Lombardia, is a city in northern Italy, in the Emilia-Romagna region. It has about 172,51 ...
on 7 January 1797, on the basis of the events following the French Revolution (1789–1799) which, among its ideals, advocated national
self-determination Self-determination refers to a people's right to form its own political entity, and internal self-determination is the right to representative government with full suffrage. Self-determination is a cardinal principle in modern international la ...
. The Italian national colours appeared for the first time in
Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...
on a tricolour cockade on 21 August 1789, anticipating by seven years the first green, white and red Italian military
war flag A war ensign, also known as a military flag, battle flag, or standard, is a variant of a national flag for use by a country's military forces when on land. The nautical equivalent is a naval ensign. Under the strictest sense of the term, few co ...
, which was adopted by the
Lombard Legion The Lombard Legion (''Legione Lombarda''; ) was a military unit of the Cisalpine Republic which existed from 1796 until the Republic's fall in 1799; but despite the downfall of this sister republic, the Cisalpine troops continued to serve the First ...
in
Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...
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 of
Italian unification The unification of Italy ( ), also known as the Risorgimento (; ), was the 19th century political and social movement that in 1861 ended in the annexation of various states of the Italian peninsula and its outlying isles to the Kingdom of ...
, which culminated on 17 March 1861 with the
proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy The proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy happened with a legal norm, normative act of the House of Savoy, Savoyard Kingdom of Sardinia — the law 17 March 1861, n. 4761 — with which Victor Emmanuel II assumed for himself and for his successors ...
, 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 the
history of Italy Italy has been inhabited by humans Prehistoric Italy, since the Paleolithic. During antiquity, there were many ancient peoples of Italy, peoples in the Italian peninsula, including Etruscan civilization, Etruscans, Latins, Samnites, Umbri, Cisal ...
.


History


The French Revolution

The Italian tricolour, like other tricolour flags, is inspired by the French one, introduced by the
revolution In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements ...
in 1790 on
French Navy The French Navy (, , ), informally (, ), is the Navy, maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the four military service branches of History of France, France. It is among the largest and most powerful List of navies, naval forces i ...
warships, and is symbolic of the renewal perpetrated by the origins of
Jacobinism A Jacobin (; ) was a member of the Jacobin Club, a revolutionary political movement that was the most famous political club during the French Revolution (1789–1799). The club got its name from meeting at the Dominican rue Saint-Honoré ...
. Shortly after the French revolutionary events, the ideals of social innovation began to spread widely on the basis of the advocacy of the
Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (), set by France's National Constituent Assembly in 1789, is a human and civil rights document from the French Revolution; the French title can be translated in the modern era as "Decl ...
of 1789, including in Italy, and subsequently political innovation with the first patriotic ferments addressed to the national
self-determination Self-determination refers to a people's right to form its own political entity, and internal self-determination is the right to representative government with full suffrage. Self-determination is a cardinal principle in modern international la ...
that later led to the
Italian unification The unification of Italy ( ), also known as the Risorgimento (; ), was the 19th century political and social movement that in 1861 ended in the annexation of various states of the Italian peninsula and its outlying isles to the Kingdom of ...
on the Italian peninsula. For this reason, the French blue, white and red flag became the first reference of the Italian Jacobins and subsequently a source of inspiration for the creation of an Italian identity flag. On 12 July 1789, two days before the
storming of the Bastille The Storming of the Bastille ( ), which occurred in Paris, France, on 14 July 1789, was an act of political violence by revolutionary insurgents who attempted to storm and seize control of the medieval armoury, fortress, and political prison k ...
, the revolutionary journalist
Camille Desmoulins Lucie-Simplice-Camille-Benoît Desmoulins (; 2 March 17605 April 1794) was a French journalist, politician and a prominent figure of the French Revolution. He is best known for playing an instrumental role in the events that led to the Stormin ...
, 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 of
hope Hope is an optimistic state of mind that is based on an expectation of positive outcomes with respect to events and circumstances in one's own life, or the world at large. As a verb, Merriam-Webster defines ''hope'' as "to expect with confid ...
or the
blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB color model, RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB color model, RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between Violet (color), violet and cyan on the optical spe ...
of the
American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...
, a symbol of
freedom Freedom is the power or right to speak, act, and change as one wants without hindrance or restraint. Freedom is often associated with liberty and autonomy in the sense of "giving oneself one's own laws". In one definition, something is "free" i ...
and
democracy Democracy (from , ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which political power is vested in the people or the population of a state. Under a minimalist definition of democracy, rulers are elected through competitiv ...
. The protesters replied "The green! The green! We want green cockades!" Desmoulins then seized a green leaf from the ground and pointed it to the hat as a distinctive sign of the revolutionaries. The green, in the primitive French cockade, was immediately abandoned in favour of blue and red, the ancient colours of Paris, because it was also the colour of the king's brother,
Count of Artois The count of Artois (, ) was the ruler over the County of Artois from the 9th century until the abolition of the countship by the French Revolution, French revolutionaries in 1790. House of Artois *Odalric () *Altmar () *Adelelm (?–932) *''C ...
, who became monarch after the
First Restoration The First Restoration was a period in French history that saw the return of the House of Bourbon to the throne, between the abdication of Napoleon in the spring of 1814 and the Hundred Days in March 1815. The regime was born following the victo ...
with the name of
Charles X of France Charles X (Charles Philippe; 9 October 1757 – 6 November 1836) was King of France from 16 September 1824 until 2 August 1830. An uncle of the uncrowned Louis XVII and younger brother of reigning kings Louis XVI and Louis XVIII, he supported th ...
. The French tricolour cockade was then completed on 17 July 1789 with the addition of white, the colour of the
House of Bourbon The House of Bourbon (, also ; ) is a dynasty that originated in the Kingdom of France as a branch of the Capetian dynasty, the royal House of France. Bourbon kings first ruled France and Kingdom of Navarre, Navarre in the 16th century. A br ...
, in deference to King
Louis XVI Louis XVI (Louis-Auguste; ; 23 August 1754 – 21 January 1793) was the last king of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. The son of Louis, Dauphin of France (1729–1765), Louis, Dauphin of France (son and heir- ...
of France, who still ruled despite the violent revolts that raged in the country; the French monarchy was abolished on 10 August 1792. The first documented use of Italian national colours is dated 21 August 1789. In the historical archives of the
Republic of Genoa The Republic of Genoa ( ; ; ) was a medieval and early modern Maritime republics, maritime republic from the years 1099 to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italy, Italian coast. During the Late Middle Ages, it was a major commercial power in ...
it is reported that eyewitnesses had seen some demonstrators hanging a red, white and green cockade on their clothes. 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. 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, also
natural rights Some philosophers distinguish two types of rights, natural rights and legal rights. * Natural rights are those that are not dependent on the laws or customs of any particular culture or government, and so are ''universal'', ''fundamental rights ...
, or
social equality Social equality is a state of affairs in which all individuals within society have equal rights, liberties, and status, possibly including civil rights, freedom of expression, autonomy, and equal access to certain public goods and social servi ...
and
freedom Freedom is the power or right to speak, act, and change as one wants without hindrance or restraint. Freedom is often associated with liberty and autonomy in the sense of "giving oneself one's own laws". In one definition, something is "free" i ...
, both principles dear to them. The red, white and green cockade then reappeared several years later on 13–14 November 1794 worn by a group of students of the
University of Bologna The University of Bologna (, abbreviated Unibo) is a Public university, public research university in Bologna, Italy. Teaching began around 1088, with the university becoming organised as guilds of students () by the late 12th century. It is the ...
, led by Luigi Zamboni and Giovanni Battista De Rolandis who attempted to plot a popular riot to topple the Catholic government of
Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...
, a city which was part of the
Papal States The Papal States ( ; ; ), officially the State of the Church, were a conglomeration of territories on the Italian peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope from 756 to 1870. They were among the major states of Italy from the 8th c ...
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, during
Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
's entry into
Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...
, which took place on 15 May 1796. These cockades, having the typical circular shape, possessed red on the outside, green on an intermediate position, and white on the centre. These ornaments were worn by the rioters even during the religious ceremonies officiated inside the
Milan Cathedral Milan Cathedral ( ; ), or Metropolitan Cathedral-Basilica of the Nativity of Saint Mary (), is the cathedral church of Milan, Lombardy, Italy. Dedicated to the Nativity of Mary, Nativity of St. Mary (), it is the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdi ...
as thanks for the arrival of Napoleon, who was seen, at least initially, as a liberator. 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 the Italian peninsula. Later the green, white and red cockade spread to a greater extent, gradually becoming the only ornament used in Italy by the rioters. The patriots began to call it " Italian cockade" making it become one of the symbols of the country. 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 the collective imagination of the
Italians Italians (, ) are a European peoples, European ethnic group native to the Italian geographical region. Italians share a common Italian culture, culture, History of Italy, history, Cultural heritage, ancestry and Italian language, language. ...
.


The Napoleonic era

The oldest documented mention of the Italian tricolour flag is linked to
Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
Bonaparte's first descent into the Italian peninsula. The first territory to be conquered by Napoleon was
Piedmont Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...
; in the historical archive of the Piedmontese municipality of
Cherasco Cherasco is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Cuneo in the Italian region Piedmont, located about southeast of Turin and about northeast of Cuneo. As of 1-1-2017, it had a population of 9096 and an area of .All demographics and ot ...
is preserved a document attesting, on 13 May 1796, on the occasion of the Armistice 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. 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. With the start of the first 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. 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 of absolutism. On 11 October 1796, Napoleon communicated to the Directorate the birth of the
Lombard Legion The Lombard Legion (''Legione Lombarda''; ) was a military unit of the Cisalpine Republic which existed from 1796 until the Republic's fall in 1799; but despite the downfall of this sister republic, the Cisalpine troops continued to serve the First ...
, a military unit constituted by the General Administration of
Lombardy The Lombardy Region (; ) is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in northern Italy and has a population of about 10 million people, constituting more than one-sixth of Italy's population. Lombardy is ...
, a government that was headed by the
Transpadane Republic The Transpadane Republic () was a sister republic of France established in Milan from 1796 to 1797. History On 10 May 1796, the French army defeated the Austrian troops in the Battle of Lodi, and occupied the Duchy of Milan. Napoleon set up a ...
(1796–1797). On this document, with reference to its
war flag A war ensign, also known as a military flag, battle flag, or standard, is a variant of a national flag for use by a country's military forces when on land. The nautical equivalent is a naval ensign. Under the strictest sense of the term, few co ...
, which followed the French tricolour and which was proposed to Napoleon by the Milanese patriots, 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. In a ceremony at the Piazza del Duomo on 16 November 1796, a military 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. 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 the
national flag A national flag is a flag that represents and national symbol, symbolizes a given nation. It is Fly (flag), flown by the government of that nation, but can also be flown by its citizens. A national flag is typically designed with specific meanin ...
of a sovereign Italian state. 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. On 19 June 1796,
Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...
was occupied by Napoleon's troops. On 18 October 1796, 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), the wire Napoleonic congregation of magistrates, and deputies of Bologna, decided to create a civic banner of red, white and green, this time released from military use. 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. The first red, white and green national flag of a sovereign Italian state was adopted on 7 January 1797, when the Fourteenth Parliament of the Cispadane Republic (1797), on the proposal of deputy Giuseppe Compagnoni, decreed "to make universal the ... standard or flag of three colours, green, white, and red ...": For having proposed the green, white and red tricolour flag, Giuseppe Compagnoni is considered the "father of the Italian flag". 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. 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. In particular, the Italian Legion was formed by soldiers coming from Emilia and
Romagna Romagna () is an Italian historical region that approximately corresponds to the south-eastern portion of present-day Emilia-Romagna, in northern Italy. Etymology The name ''Romagna'' originates from the Latin name ''Romania'', which originally ...
. The flag of the Cispadane Republic was a horizontal square with red uppermost and, at the heart of the white
fess In heraldry, a fess or fesse (from Middle English ', Old French ', and -4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ... ', and charge on a coat of arms">Latin ' ...
, 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. The Cispadane Republic and the Transpadane Republic merged in 1797 into the
Cisalpine Republic The Cisalpine Republic (; ) was a sister republic or a client state of France in Northern Italy that existed from 1797 to 1799, with a second version until 1802. Creation After the Battle of Lodi in May 1796, Napoleon Bonaparte organized two ...
(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, 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. 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. The event was characterised by a riot of tricolour flags and cockades. On this occasion, Napoleon solemnly gave to the military units of the newborn republic, after having reviewed them, their tricolour banners. 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; 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 1799, the independent
Republic of Lucca The Republic of Lucca () was a medieval and early modern state that was centered on the Italian city of Lucca in Tuscany, which lasted from 1160 to 1805. Its territory extended beyond the city of Lucca, reaching the surrounding countryside in th ...
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 of
Lucca Città di Lucca ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the Serchio River, in a fertile plain near the Ligurian Sea. The city has a population of about 89,000, while its Province of Lucca, province has a population of 383,9 ...
and
Piombino Piombino is an Italian town and ''comune'' of about 35,000 inhabitants in the province of Livorno (Tuscany). It lies on the border between the Ligurian Sea and the Tyrrhenian Sea, in front of Elba Island and at the northern side of Maremma. Ov ...
. This affair is commemorated in the opening of
Leo Tolstoy Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy Tolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; ,Throughout Tolstoy's whole life, his name was written as using Reforms of Russian orthography#The post-revolution re ...
's ''
War and Peace ''War and Peace'' (; pre-reform Russian: ; ) is a literary work by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy. Set during the Napoleonic Wars, the work comprises both a fictional narrative and chapters in which Tolstoy discusses history and philosophy. An ...
''. In the same year, after Napoleon had crowned himself as the first French Emperor, the Italian Republic was transformed into the first Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy (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.


Italian unification


The revolutions of the 19th century

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 The Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia (), commonly called the "Lombardo-Venetian Kingdom" (; ), was a constituent land (crown land) of the Austrian Empire from 1815 to 1866. It was created in 1815 by resolution of the Congress of Vienna in recogniti ...
, a state dependent on the
Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire, officially known as the Empire of Austria, was a Multinational state, multinational European Great Powers, great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the Habsburg monarchy, realms of the Habsburgs. Duri ...
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 and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in s ...
. The Austrians' objective was in fact, quoting the textual words of Emperor
Franz Joseph I of Austria Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I ( ; ; 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the ruler of the Grand title of the emperor of Austria, other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 1848 until his death ...
: Between 1820 and 1861, a sequence of events led to the independence and unification of Italy (except for
Veneto Veneto, officially the Region of Veneto, is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the Northeast Italy, north-east of the country. It is the fourth most populous region in Italy, with a population of 4,851,851 as of 2025. Venice is t ...
and the
province of Mantua The province of Mantua (; Emilian language#Dialects, Mantuan, Emilian language#Dialects, Lower Mantuan: ; Emilian language#Dialects, Upper Mantuan: ) is a Provinces of Italy, province in the Lombardy region of Italy. Its capital is the city of M ...
,
Lazio Lazio ( , ; ) or Latium ( , ; from Latium, the original Latin name, ) is one of the 20 Regions of Italy, administrative regions of Italy. Situated in the Central Italy, central peninsular section of the country, it has 5,714,882 inhabitants an ...
, Trentino-Alto Adige and Julian March, known as '' Italia irredenta'', which were united with the rest of Italy in 1866 after the
Third Italian War of Independence The Third Italian War of Independence () was a war between the Kingdom of Italy and the Austrian Empire fought between June and August 1866. The conflict paralleled the Austro-Prussian War and resulted in Austria giving the region of Venetia (p ...
, in 1870 after the
capture of Rome The Capture of Rome () occurred on 20 September 1870, as forces of the Kingdom of Italy took control of the city and of the Papal States. After a plebiscite held on 2 October 1870, Rome was officially made capital of Italy on 3 February 1871, c ...
, and in 1918 after
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
respectively); this period of Italian history is known as the ''
Risorgimento The unification of Italy ( ), also known as the Risorgimento (; ), was the 19th century political and social movement that in 1861 ended in the annexation of various states of the Italian peninsula and its outlying isles to the Kingdom of ...
''. The Italian tricolour waved for the first time in the history of the ''Risorgimento'' on 11 March 1821 in the Cittadella of Alessandria, during the revolutions of the 1820s, after the oblivion caused by the restoration of the absolutist monarchical regimes. The green, white and red flag reappeared during the
revolutions of 1830 The Revolutions of 1830 were a revolutionary wave in Europe which took place in 1830. It included two "Romantic nationalism, romantic nationalist" revolutions, the Belgian Revolution in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands and the July Revolution ...
, mainly due to
Ciro Menotti Ciro Menotti (22 January 1798 – 23 May 1831) was an Italian nationalist and liberal revolutionary who is known for his participation in the Revolution of 1830 in Italy, for which he was executed in 1831. Biography Menotti was born in Migl ...
, the patriot who started the rebellion in Italy. 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. 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 the Legation of Romagna, challenging the shots of the papal soldiers. In 1831, the tricolour was chosen by
Giuseppe Mazzini Giuseppe Mazzini (, ; ; 22 June 1805 – 10 March 1872) was an Italian politician, journalist, and activist for the unification of Italy (Risorgimento) and spearhead of the Italian revolutionary movement. His efforts helped bring about the ...
as the emblem of Young Italy. An original flag of Young Italy is kept at the Museum of the Risorgimento and Mazzinian institute in
Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...
. From 1833 to 1834, the symbolism of the tricolour spread more and more along the Italian peninsula, starting from northern and central Italy. Mazzini, regarding the reason why the Italian patriots had participated in the uprisings of 1830–1831, said: The Italian flag also spread among political exiles, becoming the symbol of the struggle for independence and the claim to have more liberal constitutions. In 1834 the tricolour was adopted by the rioters who tried to invade
Savoy Savoy (; )  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 and west and to the Aosta Vall ...
, while the tricolour flag of Young Italy was brought to
South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...
in 1835 by
Giuseppe Garibaldi Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi ( , ;In his native Ligurian language, he is known as (). In his particular Niçard dialect of Ligurian, he was known as () or (). 4 July 1807 – 2 June 1882) was an Italian general, revolutionary and republican. H ...
during his exile. The Italian flag was also waved during the uprisings of 1837 in
Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...
, of 1841 in
Abruzzo Abruzzo (, ; ; , ''Abbrìzze'' or ''Abbrèzze'' ; ), historically also known as Abruzzi, is a Regions of Italy, region of Southern Italy with an area of 10,763 square km (4,156 sq mi) and a population of 1.3 million. It is divided into four ...
and of 1843 in
Romagna Romagna () is an Italian historical region that approximately corresponds to the south-eastern portion of present-day Emilia-Romagna, in northern Italy. Etymology The name ''Romagna'' originates from the Latin name ''Romania'', which originally ...
. In 1844, a tricolour of Young Italy accompanied the Bandiera brothers in their failed attempt to raise the population of the
Kingdom of the Two Sicilies The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies () was a kingdom in Southern Italy from 1816 to 1861 under the control of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, a cadet branch of the House of Bourbon, Bourbons. The kingdom was the largest sovereign state by popula ...
. 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 an Italian tricolour cockade pinned. 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 the
Habsburg The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...
occupiers during the
War of the Austrian Succession The War of the Austrian Succession was a European conflict fought between 1740 and 1748, primarily in Central Europe, the Austrian Netherlands, Italian Peninsula, Italy, the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. Related conflicts include King Ge ...
. During this event, which took place on 10 December 1847 in Genoa at the square of the ''santuario della Nostra Signora di Loreto'' of the Genoese district of Oregina, by Goffredo Mameli and
Michele Novaro Michele Novaro (; 23 December 1818 – 20 October 1885) was an Italian composer. Novaro was born on 23 December 1818 in Genoa, where he studied composition and singing at the Scuola Gratuita di Canto (now the Genoa Conservatory). Novaro is ...
played for the first time in history; it would become the Italian
national anthem A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and European ...
from 1946. , in a verse, quotes the Italian flag: These verses, which can be read in the second verse, recall the hope that Italy, still divided into the pre-unification states, would be united in a single nation, gathering under a single flag. Starting from this period the strawberry tree plant began to be considered a national symbol of Italy due to the green leaves, white flowers and red berries, which recall the colours of the Italian flag. The strawberry tree is the
national tree This is a list of countries that have officially designated one or more trees as their national trees. Most species in the list are officially designated. Some species hold only an "unofficial" status. Additionally, the list includes trees that we ...
of
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
. The Italian flag was a symbol of the
revolutions of 1848 The revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the springtime of the peoples or the springtime of nations, were a series of revolutions throughout Europe over the course of more than one year, from 1848 to 1849. It remains the most widespre ...
. In March 1848, the
Five Days of Milan The Five Days of Milan ( ) was an insurrection and a major event in the Revolutions of 1848, Revolutionary Year of 1848 that started the First Italian War of Independence. On 18 March, a rebellion arose in the city of Milan which in five day ...
, an armed
insurrection Rebellion is an uprising that resists and is organized against one's government. A rebel is a person who engages in a rebellion. A rebel group is a consciously coordinated group that seeks to gain political control over an entire state or a ...
which led to the temporary liberation of the city from Austrian rule, were characterised by a profusion of flags and tricolour cockades. On 20 March, during furious fighting, with the Austrians barricaded in the
Castello Sforzesco The Sforza Castle ( ; ) is a medieval fortification located in Milan, northern Italy. It was built in the 15th century by Francesco Sforza, Duke of Milan, on the remnants of a 14th-century fortification. Later renovated and enlarged, in the 1 ...
and within the defensive systems of the city walls, the patriots Luigi Torelli and Scipione Bagaggia managed to climb on the roof of the
Milan Cathedral Milan Cathedral ( ; ), or Metropolitan Cathedral-Basilica of the Nativity of Saint Mary (), is the cathedral church of Milan, Lombardy, Italy. Dedicated to the Nativity of Mary, Nativity of St. Mary (), it is the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdi ...
and hoist the Italian flag on the highest spire of the church, the one on which the '' Madonnina'' stands. At the moment of the appearance of the tricolour on the spire of the ''Madonnina'', the crowd below greeted the event with a series of enthusiastic "Hurray!" This historic flag is kept inside the Museum of the Risorgimento in Milan. The patriot Luciano Manara then managed to hoist the tricolour, amidst the Austrian artillery shots, on the top of Porta Tosa. The abandonment of the city by the Austrian troops of
field marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army (in countries without the rank of Generalissimo), and as such, few persons a ...
Josef Radetzky, on 22 March, determined the immediate establishment of the provisional government of Milan chaired by the
podestà (), also potestate or podesta in English, was the name given to the holder of the highest civil office in the government of the cities of central and northern Italy during the Late Middle Ages. Sometimes, it meant the chief magistrate of a c ...
Gabrio Casati, who issued a proclamation that read: The process of transforming the flag of Italy into one of the Italian national symbols was completed, definitively consolidating itself, during the Milanese uprisings. The following day King Charles Albert of Piedmont-Sardinia assured the provisional government of Milan that his troops, ready to come to his aid by starting the
First Italian War of Independence The First Italian War of Independence (), part of the ''Risorgimento'' or unification of Italy, was fought by the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia (Piedmont) and Italian volunteers against the Austrian Empire and other conse ...
, would use a tricolour defaced with the Savoyan coat of arms superimposed on the white as a war flag. In his proclamation to the Lombard–Venetian people, Charles Albert said: As the arms, blazoned ''gules a cross argent'', mixed with the white of the flag, it was '' fimbriated azure'', blue being the dynastic colour, although this does not conform to the heraldic
rule of tincture The rule of tincture is a design philosophy found in some heraldry, heraldic traditions that states "metal should not be put on metal, nor colour on colour". Heraldic furs, such as Ermine (heraldry), ermine and vair, and Charge (heraldry), charg ...
. The rectangular civil and state variants were adopted in 1851. A makeshift tricolour consisting of redshirts, green displays and a white sheet was hoisted on the flagpole of the ship that brought
Giuseppe Garibaldi Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi ( , ;In his native Ligurian language, he is known as (). In his particular Niçard dialect of Ligurian, he was known as () or (). 4 July 1807 – 2 June 1882) was an Italian general, revolutionary and republican. H ...
back to Italy from South America shortly after the outbreak of the First Italian War of Independence. The patriots who had gathered at the
port of Genoa The Port of Genoa is one of the most important seaports in Italy. With a trade volume of 51.6 million tonnes, it is the busiest port of Italy after the port of Trieste by cargo tonnage. Notably the port was used for dismantling the ''Costa Conco ...
to welcome her return gave
Anita Garibaldi Anita Garibaldi (, ; born Ana Maria de Jesus; 30 August 1821 – 4 August 1849) was a Brazilian republican revolutionary. She was the wife and comrade-in-arms of Italian revolutionary Giuseppe Garibaldi. Their partnership epitomized the spir ...
, in front of 3,000 people, a tricolour to be given to Giuseppe Garibaldi so that he could plant it on Lombard soil. The
Grand Duchy of Tuscany The Grand Duchy of Tuscany (; ) was an Italian monarchy located in Central Italy that existed, with interruptions, from 1569 to 1860, replacing the Republic of Florence. The grand duchy's capital was Florence. In the 19th century the population ...
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). 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. Similar measures were adopted by the
Duchy of Parma and Piacenza The Duchy of Parma and Piacenza (, ) was an Italian state created in 1545 and located in northern Italy, in the current region of Emilia-Romagna. Originally a realm of the Farnese family after Pope Paul III made it a hereditary duchy for his so ...
and by the
Duchy of Modena and Reggio The Duchy of Modena and Reggio (; ; ) was an Italian state created in 1452 located in Northern Italy, Northwestern Italy, in the present day region of Emilia-Romagna. It was ruled since its establishment by the noble House of Este, and from 1814 ...
. The flag of the Constitutional
Kingdom of the Two Sicilies The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies () was a kingdom in Southern Italy from 1816 to 1861 under the control of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, a cadet branch of the House of Bourbon, Bourbons. The kingdom was the largest sovereign state by popula ...
, a white field charged with the coats of arms of Castile, Leon, Aragon, Two Sicilies, and Granada, was modified by Ferdinand 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 the Sicilian Revolution, adopted the Italian tricolour, defaced with the trinacria, or
triskelion A triskelion or triskeles is an ancient motif consisting either of a triple spiral exhibiting rotational symmetry or of other patterns in triplicate that emanate from a common center. The spiral design can be based on interlocking Archimedean s ...
. The Republic of San Marco, proclaimed independent in 1848 by the
Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire, officially known as the Empire of Austria, was a Multinational state, multinational European Great Powers, great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the Habsburg monarchy, realms of the Habsburgs. Duri ...
, also adopted the tricolour. 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 the
Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice, officially the Most Serene Republic of Venice and traditionally known as La Serenissima, was a sovereign state and Maritime republics, maritime republic with its capital in Venice. Founded, according to tradition, in 697 ...
(
maritime republic The maritime republics (), also called merchant republics (), were Italian thalassocratic port cities which, starting from the Middle Ages, enjoyed political autonomy and economic prosperity brought about by their maritime activities. The ter ...
which existed from 697 AD until 1797 AD), on a white canton. 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: 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. In 1849, the
Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( ) was the era of Ancient Rome, classical Roman civilisation beginning with Overthrow of the Roman monarchy, the overthrow of the Roman Kingdom (traditionally dated to 509 BC) and ending in 27 BC with the establis ...
, formed following the revolt against the
Papal State The Papal States ( ; ; ), officially the State of the Church, were a conglomeration of territories on the Italian peninsula under the direct Sovereignty, sovereign rule of the pope from 756 to 1870. They were among the major states of Italy fro ...
that dethroned the
Pope The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...
, adopted as its national banner a green, white and red flag with a republican Roman eagle at the tip of the pole. This lasted for four months, while the Papal States of the Church was in abeyance. The Roman Republic resisted until 4 July 1849, when it was capitulated by the French Army. 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. The tricolour also flew over the barricades of the Ten Days of Brescia, a revolt of the citizens of the Lombard city against the Austrian Empire, and in many other centres such as
Varese Varese ( , ; or ; ; ; archaic ) is a city and ''comune'' in north-western Lombardy, northern Italy, north-west of Milan. The population of Varese in 2018 was 80,559. It is the capital of the Province of Varese. The hinterland or exurban part ...
,
Gallarate Gallarate (; Lombard language, Lombard: ''Galaraa'') is a city and ''comune'' of Alto Milanese of Lombardy and of Milan metropolitan area, northern Italy, in the Province of Varese. It has a population of some 54,000 people. It is the junction ...
,
Como Como (, ; , or ; ) is a city and (municipality) in Lombardy, Italy. It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como. Nestled at the southwestern branch of the picturesque Lake Como, the city is a renowned tourist destination, ce ...
,
Melegnano Melegnano (formerly Marignano; ) is a ''comune'' and town in the Metropolitan City of Milan, Lombardy, northern Italy. The town lies southeast of the city of Milan. It received the honorary title of city with a presidential decree on 26 August 1 ...
,
Cremona Cremona ( , , ; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in northern Italy, situated in Lombardy, on the left bank of the Po (river), Po river in the middle of the Po Valley. It is the capital of the province of Cremona and the seat of the local city a ...
,
Monza Monza (, ; ; , locally ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the Lambro, River Lambro, a tributary of the Po (river), River Po, in the Lombardy region of Italy, about north-northeast of Milan. It is the capital of the province of Mo ...
,
Udine Udine ( ; ; ; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in northeastern Italy, in the middle of the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region, between the Adriatic Sea and the Carnic Alps. It is the capital of the Province of Udine, Regional decentralization entity ...
,
Trento Trento ( or ; Ladin language, Ladin and ; ; ; ; ; ), also known in English as Trent, is a city on the Adige, Adige River in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol in Italy. It is the capital of the Trentino, autonomous province of Trento. In the 16th ...
,
Verona Verona ( ; ; or ) is a city on the Adige, River Adige in Veneto, Italy, with 255,131 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region, and is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and in Northeast Italy, nor ...
,
Rovigo Rovigo (, ; ) is a city and communes of Italy, commune in the region of Veneto, Northeast Italy, the capital of the province of Rovigo, eponymous province. Geography Rovigo stands on the low ground known as Polesine, by rail southwest of Veni ...
,
Vicenza Vicenza ( , ; or , archaically ) is a city in northeastern Italy. It is in the Veneto region, at the northern base of the Monte Berico, where it straddles the Bacchiglione, River Bacchiglione. Vicenza is approximately west of Venice and e ...
,
Belluno Belluno (; ; ) is a town and province in the Veneto region of northern Italy. Located about north of Venice, Belluno is the Capital (political), capital of the province of Belluno and the most important city in the Eastern Dolomites region. W ...
and
Padua Padua ( ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Veneto, northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Padua. The city lies on the banks of the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice and southeast of Vicenza, and has a population of 20 ...
. This spread throughout the Italian peninsula and demonstrated that the tricolour flag had by then assumed a consolidated symbolism valid throughout the national territory. 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. 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. 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. After the defeat in the First Italian War of Independence in 1849, Charles Albert abdicated in favour of his son
Victor Emmanuel II Victor Emmanuel II (; full name: ''Vittorio Emanuele Maria Alberto Eugenio Ferdinando Tommaso di Savoia''; 14 March 1820 – 9 January 1878) was King of Sardinia (also informally known as Piedmont–Sardinia) from 23 March 1849 until 17 March ...
.


From the unification of Italy to World War I

On 14 April 1855, before the departure for the
Crimean War The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...
, the Italian tricolour flags were solemnly entrusted to the soldiers of the
Sardinian Expeditionary Corps in the Crimean War The Kingdom of Sardinia sided with France, Britain and the Ottoman Empire against Russia during the Crimean War (October 1853 – February 1856) and sent an expeditionary force to the Crimea in 1855. King Victor Emmanuel II and his prime mi ...
by King Victor Emmanuel II of Piedmont-Sardinia with the following farewell sentence: One of the Italian flags that participated in the Crimean War is kept in the Royal Armoury of Turin. In 1857, an Italian flag with the pole surmounted by a Phrygian cap and with an archipendulum, a symbol of social balance, was a symbol of the Sapri expedition, or rather the failed attempt to trigger a revolt in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies perpetrated by Carlo Pisacane. In order not to be captured, Pisacane committed suicide, and was reported to be bandaged with the tricolour flag. 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 the
Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire, officially known as the Empire of Austria, was a Multinational state, multinational European Great Powers, great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the Habsburg monarchy, realms of the Habsburgs. Duri ...
: When the
Second Italian War of Independence The Second Italian War of Independence, also called the Sardinian War, the Austro-Sardinian War, the Franco-Austrian War, or the Italian War of 1859 (Italian: ''Seconda guerra d'indipendenza italiana''; German: ''Sardinischer Krieg''; French: ...
(1859) broke out, volunteers from all over Italy were enrolled in the Piedmont-Sardinian army. During the Second Italian War of Independence the cities that were gradually conquered by Victor Emmanuel II of Piedmont-Sardinia and
Napoleon III of France Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led a series of m ...
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. 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 in
Tuscany Tuscany ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of 3,660,834 inhabitants as of 2025. The capital city is Florence. Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, artistic legacy, and its in ...
, Emilia,
Marche Marche ( ; ), in English sometimes referred to as the Marches ( ) from the Italian name of the region (Le Marche), is one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. The region is located in the Central Italy, central area of the country, ...
and
Umbria Umbria ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region of central Italy. It includes Lake Trasimeno and Cascata delle Marmore, Marmore Falls, and is crossed by the Tiber. It is the only landlocked region on the Italian Peninsula, Apennine Peninsula. The re ...
, 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 as
Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
and
Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...
. 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, 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. The tricolour was also the flag of the United Provinces of Central Italy, a short-lived
military government A military government is any government that is administered by a military, whether or not this government is legal under the laws of the jurisdiction at issue or by an occupying power. It is usually administered by military personnel. Types of m ...
established by the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia that was formed by a union of the former
Grand Duchy of Tuscany The Grand Duchy of Tuscany (; ) was an Italian monarchy located in Central Italy that existed, with interruptions, from 1569 to 1860, replacing the Republic of Florence. The grand duchy's capital was Florence. In the 19th century the population ...
,
Duchy of Parma The Duchy of Parma and Piacenza (, ) was an Italian state created in 1545 and located in northern Italy, in the current region of Emilia-Romagna. Originally a realm of the Farnese family after Pope Paul III made it a hereditary duchy for his s ...
,
Duchy of Modena A duchy, also called a dukedom, is a country, territory, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess, a ruler hierarchically second to the king or queen in Western European tradition. There once existed an important difference between "sovereign ...
, and the
Papal Legations The delegations as they existed in 1859 Between the Congress of Vienna (1815) and the capture of Rome (1870), the Papal State was subdivided geographically into 17 apostolic delegations (''delegazioni apostoliche'') for a ...
, after their monarchs were ousted by popular revolutions. The United Provinces of Central Italy existed from 1859 to 1860, when they were annexed to the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia. The tricolour accompanied, although not officially, also the volunteers of the
Expedition of the Thousand The Expedition of the Thousand () was an event of the unification of Italy that took place in 1860. A corps of volunteers led by Giuseppe Garibaldi sailed from Quarto al Mare near Genoa and landed in Marsala, Sicily, in order to conquer the Ki ...
(1860–1861) led by
Giuseppe Garibaldi Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi ( , ;In his native Ligurian language, he is known as (). In his particular Niçard dialect of Ligurian, he was known as () or (). 4 July 1807 – 2 June 1882) was an Italian general, revolutionary and republican. H ...
, whose goal was to conquer the
Kingdom of the Two Sicilies The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies () was a kingdom in Southern Italy from 1816 to 1861 under the control of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, a cadet branch of the House of Bourbon, Bourbons. The kingdom was the largest sovereign state by popula ...
. Garibaldi, in particular, had an absolute deference and respect for the Italian flag. 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, King
Francis II of the Two Sicilies Francis II ( Neapolitan and , ; christened ''Francesco d'Assisi Maria Leopoldo''; 16 January 1836 – 27 December 1894) was King of the Two Sicilies. He was the last King of the Two Sicilies as successive invasions by Giuseppe Garibaldi and Vict ...
, decreed that the green, white and red flag was also the official banner of his Kingdom, with the
House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies The House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies is a cadet branch of the House of Bourbon that ruled Southern Italy and Sicily for more than a century in the 18th and 19th centuries. It descends from the Capetian dynasty in legitimate male line through Phili ...
coat of arms superimposed on the white. Adopted on 21 June 1860, this lasted until 17 March 1861, when the Two Sicilies was incorporated into the Kingdom 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. Two of the original tricolours that flew on the ''Lombardo''
steamship A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships ...
that participated, together with ''Piedmont'', in the Expedition of the Thousand, are preserved, respectively, inside the Central Museum of the Risorgimento at the Vittoriano in Rome and the Museum of the Risorgimento in
Palermo Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...
. On 17 March 1861, there was the
proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy The proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy happened with a legal norm, normative act of the House of Savoy, Savoyard Kingdom of Sardinia — the law 17 March 1861, n. 4761 — with which Victor Emmanuel II assumed for himself and for his successors ...
, a formal act that sanctioned, with a normative act of the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia, the birth of the unified Kingdom of Italy. On 15 April 1861, the flag of the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia was declared the flag of the newly formed Kingdom of Italy. The tricolour therefore continued to be the national flag also of the new State, although not officially recognised by a specific law, but regulated with regard to the shape of military banners. This Italian tricolour, with the armorial bearings of the former Royal
House of Savoy The House of Savoy (, ) is a royal house (formally a dynasty) of Franco-Italian origin that was established in 1003 in the historical region of Savoy, which was originally part of the Kingdom of Burgundy and now lies mostly within southeastern F ...
, was the first national flag and lasted in that form for 85 years until the birth of the Italian Republic in 1946. The ''tricolore'' had a universal, transversal meaning, shared by both
monarchists Monarchism is the advocacy of the system of monarchy or monarchical rule. A monarchist is an individual who supports this form of government independently of any specific monarch, whereas one who supports a particular monarch is a royalist. C ...
and republicans, progressives and
conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilizati ...
and Guelphs as well as by the Ghibellines. The tricolour was chosen as the flag of a united Italy also for this reason. After the Unification of Italy, the use of the tricolour became increasingly widespread among the population as the flag and its colours began to appear on the labels of commercial products, school notebooks, the first cars and cigar packages. 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. It then began to appear outside public buildings, schools, judicial offices and post offices. During this period, tricolour bands were introduced for mayors and the jurors of the assize court during this period. Following the
Third Italian War of Independence The Third Italian War of Independence () was a war between the Kingdom of Italy and the Austrian Empire fought between June and August 1866. The conflict paralleled the Austro-Prussian War and resulted in Austria giving the region of Venetia (p ...
in 1866,
Veneto Veneto, officially the Region of Veneto, is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the Northeast Italy, north-east of the country. It is the fourth most populous region in Italy, with a population of 4,851,851 as of 2025. Venice is t ...
and
Friuli Friuli (; ; or ; ; ) is a historical region of northeast Italy. The region is marked by its separate regional and ethnic identity predominantly tied to the Friulians, who speak the Friulian language. It comprises the major part of the autono ...
were annexed to the Kingdom of Italy; the entry of the
Italian Army The Italian Army ( []) is the Army, land force branch of the Italian Armed Forces. The army's history dates back to the Italian unification in the 1850s and 1860s. The army fought in colonial engagements in China and Italo-Turkish War, Libya. It ...
troops into
Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...
, which took place on 19 October 1866, was greeted by a profusion of tricolour flags. Since the promulgation of a resolution of its municipal council, dated 5 November 1866,
Vicenza Vicenza ( , ; or , archaically ) is a city in northeastern Italy. It is in the Veneto region, at the northern base of the Monte Berico, where it straddles the Bacchiglione, River Bacchiglione. Vicenza is approximately west of Venice and e ...
is the only city in Italy to have adopted the tricolour flag as its own gonfalon, instead of the civic banner, loaded with the coat of arms of the municipality. 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 the Gold Medal of Military Valour earned by the Venetian municipality with the battle 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. During the battle of Custoza (24 June 1866), part of the Third Italian War of Independence, near Oliosi, today part of the municipality of Castelnuovo del Garda, the soldiers of the 44th
regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, military service, service, or administrative corps, specialisation. In Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of l ...
of the "Forlì"
brigade A brigade is a major tactical military unit, military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute ...
saved the tricolour war flag from the capture of the
Austro-Hungarian Army The Austro-Hungarian Army, also known as the Imperial and Royal Army,; was the principal ground force of Austria-Hungary from 1867 to 1918. It consisted of three organisations: the Common Army (, recruited from all parts of Austria-Hungary), ...
. 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, named ''Tricolore di Oliosi''. Every year, on the third Sunday in June, the remembrance of the war episode is celebrated in Oliosi. At the military parade on 2 June 2011, held in
via dei Fori Imperiali The Via dei Fori Imperiali (formerly ''Via dei Monti'', then ''Via dell'Impero'') is a road in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, that is in a straight line from the Piazza Venezia to the Colosseum. Its course takes it over parts of the For ...
in Rome on the occasion of the celebrations for the 150th anniversary of the unification of Italy, the ''Tricolore di Oliosi'' was paraded on a
cannon A cannon is a large-caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder during th ...
carriage A carriage is a two- or four-wheeled horse-drawn vehicle for passengers. In Europe they were a common mode of transport for the wealthy during the Roman Empire, and then again from around 1600 until they were replaced by the motor car around 1 ...
along with five other historic Italian flags. Massimo d'Azeglio was among the first to recognize the importance of the tricolour flag as a tool for forming a widespread national awareness. In this regard he declared: "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 the
capture of Rome The Capture of Rome () occurred on 20 September 1870, as forces of the Kingdom of Italy took control of the city and of the Papal States. After a plebiscite held on 2 October 1870, Rome was officially made capital of Italy on 3 February 1871, c ...
on 20 September 1870, and the annexation of
Lazio Lazio ( , ; ) or Latium ( , ; from Latium, the original Latin name, ) is one of the 20 Regions of Italy, administrative regions of Italy. Situated in the Central Italy, central peninsular section of the country, it has 5,714,882 inhabitants an ...
to the Kingdom of Italy. 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 the
Quirinal Palace The Quirinal Palace ( ) is a historic building in Rome, Italy, the main official residence of the President of Italy, President of the Italian Republic, together with Villa Rosebery in Naples and the Tenuta di Castelporziano, an estate on the outs ...
. The first Italian colony was founded in 1882, the
Assab Assab or Aseb (, ) is a port city in the Southern Red Sea Region of Eritrea. It is situated on the west coast of the Red Sea. Languages spoken in Assab are predominantly Afar language, Afar, Tigrinya language, Tigrinya, and Arabic. After the Ita ...
bay, which became the first outpost of the future
Italian Eritrea Italian Eritrea (, "Colony of Eritrea") was a colony of the Kingdom of Italy in the territory of present-day Eritrea. The first Italian establishment in the area was the purchase of Assab by the Società di Navigazione Rubattino, Rubattino Shippin ...
, where the flag of Italy waved in an Italian colony for the first time. Subsequently, the tricolour also waved in the
Italian Somaliland Italian Somaliland (; ; ) was a protectorate and later colony of the Kingdom of Italy in present-day Somalia, which was ruled in the 19th century by the Sultanate of Hobyo and the Majeerteen Sultanate in the north, and by the Hiraab Imamate and ...
, in the
Italian Libya Libya (; ) was a colony of Fascist Italy (1922–1943), Italy located in North Africa, in what is now modern Libya, between 1934 and 1943. It was formed from the unification of the colonies of Italian Cyrenaica, Cyrenaica and Italian Tripolitan ...
, in the Italian concession of Tientsin and in the
Italian Islands of the Aegean The Italian Islands of the Aegean (; ; ) were an archipelago of fourteen islands (the Dodecanese, except Kastellorizo) in the southeastern Aegean Sea, that—together with the surrounding islets—were ruled by the Kingdom of Italy from 1912 t ...
. In 1897, the Italian flag had its 100th anniversary. The centennial celebration in
Reggio Emilia Reggio nell'Emilia (; ), usually referred to as Reggio Emilia, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, and known until Unification of Italy, 1861 as Reggio di Lombardia, is a city in northern Italy, in the Emilia-Romagna region. It has about 172,51 ...
, where the tricolour was created on 7 January 100 years earlier, Giosuè Carducci, who later became the first Italian to win the
Nobel Prize in Literature The Nobel Prize in Literature, here meaning ''for'' Literature (), is a Swedish literature prize that is awarded annually, since 1901, to an author from any country who has, in the words of the will of Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel, "in ...
in 1906, defined the flag as "blessed" and kissed it at the end of the speech. Around 1880 began large waves of
Italian diaspora The Italian diaspora (, ) is the large-scale emigration of Italians from Italy. There were two major Italian diasporas in Italian history. The first diaspora began around 1880, two decades after the Risorgimento, Unification of Italy, and ended ...
, especially towards the Americans. The tricolour, often carried in the suitcases of migrants, began to wave outside the national borders, especially in the Little Italy, Little Italies that were forming around the world. This bond with the land of origin did not fade with the passing of generations—often still alive in the third or fourth generation. Several years earlier in 1861, president of the United States, U.S. president Abraham Lincoln reviewed some military units that were participating in the American Civil War—among them was a Garibaldi Guard, made up of Italian immigrants, which had as its military banner the tricolour flag. In 1885, the tricolour jersey was introduced for the cyclist who won the title of champion of Italy. Conceptually, this recognition is similar to the placement of a tricolour shield, the ''scudetto'', on the jerseys of the team champion of Italy in Association football, football, Rugby football, rugby, volleyball and basketball. The idea of affixing a ''scudetto'' on the shirts of the winning sports teams of the respective national championships was Gabriele D'Annunzio. In football, the first sport to use it, it was introduced in 1924. In 1889, in the culinary field, the pizza Margherita was invented, named in honour of Queen Margherita of Savoy, whose main ingredients recall the tricolour flag. Green for the basil, white for the mozzarella and red for the tomato sauce. With the first trade union struggles at the end of the 19th century, the Italian flag began to wave in the hands of the demonstrators during Strike action, strikes. Even during the struggles perpetrated by the Fasci Siciliani between 1892 and 1894 there was a profusion of Italian flag. They were contrasted by the tricolours of the police sent by the government to quell the trade union revolts. On 25 April 1900, the Italian flag flew in the Franz Josef Land, an archipelago located north of the Russian Empire between the Arctic Ocean and the Kara Sea, an expedition organized in the Arctic, arctic areas led by explorer Umberto Cagni. On 29 July 1900, King Umberto I of Italy, who succeeded his father Victor Emmanuel II in 1878, was assassinated in
Monza Monza (, ; ; , locally ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the Lambro, River Lambro, a tributary of the Po (river), River Po, in the Lombardy region of Italy, about north-northeast of Milan. It is the capital of the province of Mo ...
at a public ceremony with the streets flagged with tricolours. The king was shot four times by the Italian-American anarchist Gaetano Bresci. Bresci claimed he wanted to avenge the people killed in Milan during the suppression of the Bava Beccaris massacre, riots of May 1898. Umberto I was succeeded by his son Victor Emmanuel III of Italy.


The two world wars and the interwar period

Italy entered
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
in 1915 with the aim of completing national unity, and for this reason, the Italian intervention in World War I is also considered the Fourth Italian War of Independence in a historiographical perspective that identifies in the latter the conclusion of the unification of Italy, whose military actions began during the
revolutions of 1848 The revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the springtime of the peoples or the springtime of nations, were a series of revolutions throughout Europe over the course of more than one year, from 1848 to 1849. It remains the most widespre ...
with the
First Italian War of Independence The First Italian War of Independence (), part of the ''Risorgimento'' or unification of Italy, was fought by the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia (Piedmont) and Italian volunteers against the Austrian Empire and other conse ...
. King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy, the day the Kingdom of Italy entered the war, appeared from the balcony of the Quirinal Palace while waving the tricolour shouting "Long live Italy". Victor Emmanuel III then made an official proclamation shortly before leaving for the Italian front (World War I), Italian war front, which read, in its final part: The tricolour flag was a symbol in both the trenches and in the civil sphere. 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. 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. During the flight over Vienna, on 9 August 1918 aerial flyer Gabriele D'Annunzio launched the tricolour leaflet over Vienna with which he exhorted the enemy to surrender and end the war. The Italian troops then entered Trieste in November 1918 following the victory in the battle of Vittorio Veneto, which ended the conflict with the retreat and the definitive defeat of the Austrians. The War Bulletin No. 1267 of 3 November 1918 by General Armando Diaz announced the ''Bollettino della Vittoria'' and the ''Bollettino della Vittoria Navale'' by few days, read: After World War I, the Italian flag was also a symbol of the ''Impresa 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!" During the Italian Regency of Carnaro (1919–1920), a state entity that administered the city of Fiume, now part of modern-day Croatia, D'Annunzio defined the Italian flag "the garment of the eternal nation" and urged the Italians to rebel against those responsible for the Battle of Caporetto, defeat of Caporetto by waving the "tricolour across the sky". In particular, Italy, as a peace agreement at the conclusion of World War I, signed the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye (1919), Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye (1919) and the Treaty of Rapallo (1920), Treaty of Rapallo (1920), which allowed the annexation of Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, Trentino Alto-Adige, Julian March, Istria, Kvarner Gulf, Kvarner, with the cities of Trieste,
Trento Trento ( or ; Ladin language, Ladin and ; ; ; ; ; ), also known in English as Trent, is a city on the Adige, Adige River in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol in Italy. It is the capital of the Trentino, autonomous province of Trento. In the 16th ...
, Gorizia, Pula, Pola, as well as the Dalmatian city of Zadar, Zara. The subsequent Treaty of Rome (1924), Treaty of Rome (1924) led to the annexation of the city of Fiume to Italy. The coffin of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (Italy), Italian Unknown Soldier was placed on the gun carriage of a
cannon A cannon is a large-caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder during th ...
and wrapped in a tricolour flag during its journey from the Basilica di Santa Maria Assunta, Aquileia to the Altare della Patria in Rome, which took place in 1921 on a Goods wagon, railway hearse. This historic flag is kept inside the Central Museum of the Risorgimento at the Vittoriano in Rome. With the March on Rome in 1922, and the establishment of the Italian fascism, fascist dictatorship, the Italian flag lost its symbolic uniqueness partly obscured by the iconography of the regime. When it was used, as the symbol of the National Fascist Party, its history was distorted, given that the tricolour was born as a symbol of freedom and Civil and political rights, civil rights. 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. On 31 January 1923, the salute to the flag by the students of Italian schools was instituted by the Ministry of Public Education (Italy), Ministry of Public Education whereby every Saturday morning, at the end of the lesson, the students paid homage to the flag with the Roman salute and with the performance of patriotic musical pieces. In 1926, the Fascist regime attempted to have the Italian national flag redesigned by having the fasces, the symbol used by the Fascist movement, included on the flag.Mack Smith, Denis ''Italy and its Monarchy'' (p. 265) Yale University Press, 1989 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. The Fascist government raised the national tricolour flag along with a Fascist black flag in public ceremonies.Gentile, Emilio ''The sacralization of politics in fascist Italy'' (p. 119) Harvard University Press, 1996 In 1926, an Italian flag was first brought to the North Pole by the Norge (airship), Norge airship during the expedition led by Umberto Nobile and Roald Amundsen; the tricolours then greeted Italo Balbo in his oceanic seaplane crossings. The Azione 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". In August 1933, the Italian ocean liner SS Rex, which had just won the Blue Riband, arrived in New York City setting the record for Atlantic Ocean crossing in the shortest time (four days) was greeted by the waving of tricolour flags. Trains covered with tricolour flags carried the settlers to the new cities founded after the reclamation of the Pontine Marshes, while on 5 May 1936 there was the solemn flag-raising in Addis Ababa, Italian Ethiopia, which greeted the founding of the Italian Empire. The flag in Addis Ababa was then lowered in November 1941 at the end of the East African campaign (World War II), East African campaign, which was fought during World War II. Italy entered World War II on 10 June 1940 with the speech by Benito Mussolini delivered from the main balcony of Palazzo Venezia in Rome, but the climate was different from that which characterized Italy's entry into World War I. The king did not appear on the balcony of the Quirinal Palace waving the flag as he did in 1915. During World War II, the Italian flag came back strongly after the Armistice of Cassibile of 8 September 1943, where it was taken as a symbol by the two sides who faced each other in the Italian Civil War in an attempt to recall the unification of Italy and its cultural tradition. In particular, it was used by the Italian resistance movement, partisans as a symbol of the struggle against tyrants and emblem of the dream of a free Italy. Even the Communism, communist Italian partisan brigades, partisan brigades, which had the Red flag (politics), red flag as the official banner, often waved the Italian flag. Tricolour flags were also the official banners of the Italian Partisan Republics and of the National Liberation Committee, as well as their antagonists, the Republicans in an attempt to recall the period of the unification of Italy and its cultural background. The national flag of the short-lived Fascist state in northern Italy, the Italian Social Republic (1943–1945), or "Republic of Salò" as it was commonly known, was identical to the flag of the modern Italian Republic, as both republics used the previous flag of the Kingdom of Italy with the coat of arms of House of Savoy, Savoy removed. This flag was rarely seen, while the war flag, charged with a silver/black eagle clutching horizontally placed ''fascio littorio'' (literally, bundles of the lictors), was very common in propaganda.''Foggia 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) Italian fascism derived its name from the fasces, which symbolised ''imperium'', or power and authority, in ancient Rome. Roman legions had carried the Aquila (Roman), ''aquila'', or eagle, as ''signa militaria''. The Italian tricolour was also used for propaganda. The Italian Social Republic, for example, used it on a poster depicting Goffredo Mameli, the author of the lyrics of , the
national anthem A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and European ...
of Italy from 1946, with an unsheathed sword and a tricolour behind him while he launches towards an assault. This poster bears the words "Brothers of Italy / Italy has woken!" and "1849–1944 The spirit of Goffredo Mameli/Defend the Social Republic". On 25 April 1945, the government of Mussolini fell. This event is commemorated by Liberation Day (Italy), Liberation 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. Remembering these events, Francesco Cossiga, at the time President of the Senate (Italy), president of the Senate of the Republic, in a speech delivered on 28 June 1984, said: 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 partisan Garibaldi Brigades initially in the city of Fiume in 1943, then extended to all the territories where the Italian ethnic minority (Istrian Italians and Dalmatian Italians) resided. Having entered Yugoslavia, this flag remained official until 1992, when it was officially replaced by the flag adopted by the Italian state. Following the defeat of Italy in World War II and the Paris Peace Treaties, 1947, Paris Treaties of 1947, Istria, Kvarner Gulf, Kvarner and most of Julian March, with the cities of Pola, Fiume and Zara, passed to Yugoslavia, and after the latter's dissolution, to Croatia, causing the Istrian-Dalmatian exodus which led to the emigration of between 230,000 and 350,000 of local ethnic
Italians Italians (, ) are a European peoples, European ethnic group native to the Italian geographical region. Italians share a common Italian culture, culture, History of Italy, history, Cultural heritage, ancestry and Italian language, language. ...
(Istrian Italians and Dalmatian Italians), the others being ethnic Slovenians, ethnic Croatians, and ethnic Istro-Romanians, choosing to maintain Italian citizenship. 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 to Slovenia.


Italian Republic

On 13 June 1946, the 1946 Italian institutional referendum, Italian Republic was officially founded and the last king of Italy Umberto II of Italy, Umberto 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. 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. This decision was later confirmed in the session of 24 March 1947 by the Constituent Assembly of Italy, 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. Shortly before the officialisation of the flag in the constitution, on 7 January 1947, the tricolour turned 150. The role of master of ceremonies that belonged to Giosuè Carducci 50 years earlier was assumed by Luigi Salvatorelli, whose speech, uttered during the Reggio Emilia official celebrations in the presence of Enrico De Nicola, Provisional Head of State, alluded to the delicate phase that post-war Italy was going through with particular reference to the humiliations suffered by the country in World War II: The Republican tricolour was then officially and solemnly delivered to the Italian military corps on 4 November 1947 on the occasion of National Unity and Armed Forces Day. The universally adopted ratio is 2:3, while the war flag is squared (1:1). Each ''comune'' also has a ''gonfalone'' 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. During the republican era, the tricolour greeted important events in Italian history. The flag was hoisted at the top of K2 during the 1954 Italian Karakoram expedition to K2, Italian expedition in 1954 that led Achille Compagnoni and Lino Lacedelli to be the first people to reach the summit of this mountain—the second highest in the world after Mount Everest, and was brought in 2011 to the International Space Station by astronaut Roberto Vittori on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the unification of Italy. A profusion of Italian flags greeted the return of Trieste to Italy in 1954, which took place following the agreements signed between the governments of Italy, the United Kingdom, the United States and Yugoslavia concerning the status of the Free Territory of Trieste, an independent territory situated between northern Italy and Yugoslavia. The territory, under the List of United Nations Security Council Resolutions 1 to 100, direct responsibility of the United Nations Security Council in the aftermath of World War II, established on 10 February 1947 by a protocol of the Treaty of Peace with Italy, 1947, Treaty of Peace with Italy. The Italian naval ensign comprises the national flag defaced with the arms of the Italian Navy; the mercantile marine (and private citizens at sea) use the civil ensign, differenced by the absence of the mural crown and the lion holding open the gospel, bearing the inscription, PAX TIBI MARCE EVANGELISTA MEVS instead of a sword. The shield is quartered, symbolic of the four great thalassocracy, thalassocracies of Italy, the ''repubbliche marinare'' of
Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...
(represented by the lion ''passant'', top left),
Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...
(top right), Amalfi (bottom left), and Pisa (represented by their respective crosses); the ''rostrata'' crown was proposed by Domenico Cavagnari, Admiral Cavagnari in 1939 to acknowledge the Navy's origins in ancient Rome. The tricolour flag was the official banner of the Trust Territory of Somaliland, Italian Trust Administration of Somalia (1950–1960), which was granted on a United Nations trust territories, UN mandate, and which was the first United Nations peacekeeping, peacekeeping mission of the
Italian Army The Italian Army ( []) is the Army, land force branch of the Italian Armed Forces. The army's history dates back to the Italian unification in the 1850s and 1860s. The army fought in colonial engagements in China and Italo-Turkish War, Libya. It ...
. The tricolour continues to represent Italy in all peacekeeping missions in which the Italian Armed Forces participate. In 1997, on its bicentenary, 7 January was declared Tricolour Day; it is intended as a celebration, though not a public holiday. 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.Article 1 of the law n. 671 of 31 December 1996 ("National celebration of the bicentenary of the first national flag") Among the events celebrating the bicentenary of the Italian flag, was the longest tricolour in history, which also entered the ''Guinness World Records'' at long, wide and had an area of , and paraded in Rome from the Colosseum to the Capitoline Hill. During the celebrations for the 140 years of national unity, on 4 November 2001, in San Martino della Battaglia, during the National Unity and Armed Forces Day, in reference to the tricolour, the former president of the Italian Republic, Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, said: 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 the coat of arms of Italy, national coat of arms. Since 1914, the Aeronautica Militare, Italian Air Force have also used a Cockade of Italy, roundel of concentric rings in the colours of the tricolour as aircraft marking, substituted, from 1923 to 1943, by encircled fasces. The , 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 other
national symbols of Italy National symbols of Italy are the symbols that uniquely identify Italy reflecting its history and culture. They are used to represent the nation through emblems, metaphors, personifications, allegories, which are shared by the entire Italian peo ...
.


Historical evolution of the flag

File:Flag of the Cispadane Republic.svg, Flag of the Cispadane Republic (1797) File:Flag of the Repubblica Cisalpina 1797–1798.svg, Flag of the
Cisalpine Republic The Cisalpine Republic (; ) was a sister republic or a client state of France in Northern Italy that existed from 1797 to 1799, with a second version until 1802. Creation After the Battle of Lodi in May 1796, Napoleon Bonaparte organized two ...
(1797–1798) File:Flag of the Repubblica Cisalpina.svg, Flag of the Cisalpine Republic (1798–1802) File:Flag of the Italian Republic (1802).svg, Flag of the Italian Republic (Napoleonic), Italian Republic (1802–1805) File:Flag of the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy.svg, Flag of the Kingdom of Italy (Napoleonic), Kingdom of Italy (1805–1814) File:Flag of Italy.svg, Flag of the Italian United Provinces (1831) File:Flag of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies (1848).svg, Flag of the
Kingdom of the Two Sicilies The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies () was a kingdom in Southern Italy from 1816 to 1861 under the control of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, a cadet branch of the House of Bourbon, Bourbons. The kingdom was the largest sovereign state by popula ...
(1848–1849) File:Flag of the Republic of San Marco.svg, Flag of the Republic of San Marco (1848–1849) File:Flag of the Kingdom of Sardinia (1848-1851).svg, Flag of the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia (1848–1851) File:Flag of Sicilian Kingdom 1848.svg, Flag of the Kingdom of Sicily (1848–1849) File:State Flag of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany (1848-1849).svg, Flag of the
Grand Duchy of Tuscany The Grand Duchy of Tuscany (; ) was an Italian monarchy located in Central Italy that existed, with interruptions, from 1569 to 1860, replacing the Republic of Florence. The grand duchy's capital was Florence. In the 19th century the population ...
(1848–1849) File:Flag of the Roman Republic (19th century).svg, Flag of the
Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( ) was the era of Ancient Rome, classical Roman civilisation beginning with Overthrow of the Roman monarchy, the overthrow of the Roman Kingdom (traditionally dated to 509 BC) and ending in 27 BC with the establis ...
(1849) File:Military flag of the Roman Republic (19th century).svg, War flag of the
Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( ) was the era of Ancient Rome, classical Roman civilisation beginning with Overthrow of the Roman monarchy, the overthrow of the Roman Kingdom (traditionally dated to 509 BC) and ending in 27 BC with the establis ...
(1849) File:Flag_of_the_Free_Cities_of_Menton_and_Roquebrune_(1848-1849).svg, Flag of the Free Cities of Menton and Roquebrune (1848–1849) File:Flag of Italy (1861-1946) crowned.svg, Flag of the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia (1851–1861) Flag of Italy.svg, Flag of the United Provinces of Central Italy (1859–1860) File:Flag of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies (1860).svg, Flag of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies (1860–1861) File:Flag of Italy (1861-1946) crowned.svg, State flag of the Kingdom of Italy (1861–1946) File:Flag_of_Italy_(1861–1946).svg, Civil flag of the Kingdom of Italy. National and merchant flag in the period (1861–1946) File:Flag of Giustizia e Liberta.svg, Flag of the Matteotti Battalion, Colonna Italiana (1936–1945) File:Flag of Italy.svg, Flag of the Italian Social Republic (1943–1945) File:Bandiera di combattimento per le Forze Armate della Repubblica Sociale Italiana.svg, Flag of the National Republican Army (1 December 1943 to 7 May 1945) File:War flag of the Italian Social Republic.svg, War flag of the Italian Social Republic (28 January 1944 to 7 May 1945) File:Flag of Italian Committee of National Liberation.svg, Flag of the National Liberation Committee (1943–1945) File:Bandiera delle Brigate Garibaldi partigiane (1943-1945).svg, Flag of the Brigate Garibaldi (1943–1945) File:Flag of SFR Yugoslav Italian Minority.svg, Flag of the Italian ethnic minority (Istrian Italians and Dalmatian Italians) in Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Yugoslavia (1945–1990) File:Flag of Italy (1946–2003).svg, Flag of the Trust Territory of Somaliland (1950–1960) File:Flag of Italy (1-2).svg, Flag of Italians of Croatia (1990–present) File:Flag of Italy (1946–2003).svg, Flag of the Italy, Italian Republic (1946–2003) File:Flag of Italy (2003–2006).svg, Flag of the Italy, Italian Republic (2003–2006) File:Flag of Italy.svg, Flag of the Italy, Italian Republic (2006–present)


Description


Colours

The colours of the Italian flag are indicated in article 12 of the
Constitution of the Italian Republic The Constitution of the Italian Republic () was ratified on 22 December 1947 by the Constituent Assembly, with 453 votes in favour and 62 against, before coming into force on 1 January 1948, one century after the previous Constitution of the Ki ...
, published in the ''
Gazzetta Ufficiale The ''Gazzetta Ufficiale della Repubblica Italiana'' () is the official journal of record of the Italian government. It is published by the Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato in Rome. Function The ''Gazzetta Ufficiale'' promulgates acts ...
'' No. 298, extraordinary edition, of 27 December 1947, and came into force on 1 January 1948: * green; * white; * red. 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.


Chromatic definition

The need to precisely define the colours was born from an event that happened at the Justus Lipsius building, seat of the Council of the European Union, of the European Council and of their General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union, Secretariat, when an Italian Member of the European Parliament, MEP, 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 Italian
national flag A national flag is a flag that represents and national symbol, symbolizes a given nation. It is Fly (flag), flown by the government of that nation, but can also be flown by its citizens. A national flag is typically designed with specific meanin ...
. The shades of green, white and red were first specified by these official documents: * circulaire of the Secretary of the Council of Ministers of Italy, Undersecretary of State for the Presidency of the Council of Ministers of 18 September 2002; * circulaire by the State Secretary for the Presidency of the Council of Ministers of 17 January 2003; ** ** ** New documents then replaced the previous ones: * circulaire of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers (Italy), Presidency of the Council of Ministers No. EU 3.3.1 / 14545/1 of 2 June 2004; * decree of the President of the Council of Ministers of 14 April 2006, "General provisions relating to ceremonial and precedence among public offices" ** ** ** The chromatic tones of the three colours, on polyester Cheesecloth, stamina, 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 the ''
Gazzetta Ufficiale The ''Gazzetta Ufficiale della Repubblica Italiana'' () is the official journal of record of the Italian government. It is published by the Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato in Rome. Function The ''Gazzetta Ufficiale'' promulgates acts ...
'' No. 174 of 28 July 2006. :


Other official flags


Governmental standards

The president of the Italian Republic has an official standard. The current version is based on the square flag of the Napoleonic Italian Republic, on a field of blue, charged with the emblem of Italy in gold. The square shape with a Savoy blue border symbolise the four Italian Armed Forces, namely the Italian Air Force, the Carabinieri, the
Italian Army The Italian Army ( []) is the Army, land force branch of the Italian Armed Forces. The army's history dates back to the Italian unification in the 1850s and 1860s. The army fought in colonial engagements in China and Italo-Turkish War, Libya. It ...
and the Italian Navy, of which the president is the commander. Blue in heraldry also metaphorically symbolizes command. 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. This version of the standard was replaced in 1990 by then President Francesco 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. This version was short-lived as only two years later it was replaced by the 1965 standard, only with a smaller emblem. This version lasted until 2000 from when it was replaced by the current version. After the Republic was proclaimed, the
national flag A national flag is a flag that represents and national symbol, symbolizes a given nation. It is Fly (flag), flown by the government of that nation, but can also be flown by its citizens. A national flag is typically designed with specific meanin ...
was provisionally adopted as the head of state in place of the royal standard. On the initiative of the Ministero della Difesa, Ministry of Defence, a project was prepared in 1965 to adopt a distinct flag. 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 Reggimento Corazzieri of the Arma dei Carabinieri, along with the war flag (assigned to Regiment in 1878). 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. 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; a tricolour in the style of the presidential standard, it is emblazoned with the royal cypher, Cypher of Honour of the president of the Republic. The standard of Prime Minister of Italy, president of the Council of Ministers of Italy, introduced for the first time in 1927 by Benito 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 by Silvio 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. File:Substitute President standard of Italy.svg, Standard of a substitute president of the Italian Republic File:Standard of Presidents Emeritus of Italy.svg, Standard of a president emeritus of the Italian Republic File:Flag of the Prime Minister of Italy.svg, Standard of the Prime Minister of Italy, president of the Council of Ministers of Italy File:Flag of the Italian Defence minister.svg, Standard of the Minister of Defence (Italy), Minister of Defence


Maritime flags

The naval ensigns are defaced to distinguish themselves from the flag of Mexico: * the naval ensign bears the arms of the Navy: a Escutcheon (heraldry), shield, surmounted by a Mural crown, turreted and Naval crown, rostrum crown, which brings together in four parts the arms of four ancient maritime republics:
Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice, officially the Most Serene Republic of Venice and traditionally known as La Serenissima, was a sovereign state and Maritime republics, maritime republic with its capital in Venice. Founded, according to tradition, in 697 ...
(where the Lion of Saint Mark carries the sword),
Republic of Genoa The Republic of Genoa ( ; ; ) was a medieval and early modern Maritime republics, maritime republic from the years 1099 to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italy, Italian coast. During the Late Middle Ages, it was a major commercial power in ...
, Republic of Pisa and Duchy of Amalfi, Republic of Amalfi; * the civil ensign bears a coat of arms identical to that of the Navy, but without a crown and in which the lion of Mark the Evangelist, Saint Mark carries the book; * the government ensign, adopted in 2003, bears the Emblem of Italy, emblem of the Italian Republic. File:Naval jack of Italy (1879-ca. 1900).svg, Jack of the (former) File:Civil Ensign of Italy.svg, Italian civil ensign File:State Ensign of Italy.svg, Italian government ensign File:Naval Ensign of Italy.svg, Italian naval ensign File:Naval Jack of Italy.svg, Italian naval jack (''recto'')


Protocol


Obligation to exhibit

The law, implementing Article 12 of the Constitution of Italy, Constitution and following of Italy's membership of the European Union, lays down the general provisions governing the use and display of the flag of the Italian Republic and the flag of European Union (in its territory). In particular, in public buildings the flag of the Italian Republic, the flag of the European Union and the portrait of the president of the Italian Republic must be displayed in the offices of the most important Italian institutional offices. The flag of Italy must also be displayed outside all Education in Italy, schools of all levels, outside university complexes, outside the buildings that host the voting operations, outside the prefectures, police headquarters, Tribunal, palaces of justice and outside the central post offices. The flag of Italy must also be displayed on all public offices on the Tricolour Day (7 January), the Anniversary of the Lateran Treaty (11 February), the Liberation Day (Italy), Anniversary of the Liberation (25 April), the Labour Day (1 May), the Europe Day (9 May), the Festa della Repubblica, Feast of the Italian Republic (2 June), the commemoration of the Four days of Naples (28 September), the feast of the patron saint of Italy (Francis of Assisi, 4 October), United Nations Day (24 October; here the tricolour must fly together with the flag of the United Nations) and National Unity and Armed Forces Day (4 November). When displayed alongside other flags, the flag of Italy takes the position of honour; it is raised first and lowered last. Other
national flag A national flag is a flag that represents and national symbol, symbolizes a given nation. It is Fly (flag), flown by the government of that nation, but can also be flown by its citizens. A national flag is typically designed with specific meanin ...
s 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 to half-mast; two black ribbons may be attached to those otherwise displayed.


Exposure mode

The tricolour flags displayed must always be in excellent condition, fully extended and must never touch water or land. In no case can figures and writings be written or printed on the cloth. 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). In the event of State funeral, public mourning the banner can be raised at half-mast and two strips of black velvet can be affixed to the cloth; the latter are instead mandatory when the tricolour participates in funeral ceremonies. In public ceremonies, the tricolour must always parade first.


Flag-folding

There is a precise way to fold the tricolour correctly, by taking into account the three vertical Bend (heraldry), bands of which the banner is composed. 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.


Legal protection

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 the crime of insulting it, or other banners bearing the national colours, thus providing:


Flag-raising

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. In the military sphere, it is announced by trumpet blasts and is performed on the notes of the national anthem. The flagship, which takes place in the evening, is instead slower and more solemn so as not to make it seem a rapid lowering. The tricolour can be exposed also during the night only if the place where it is flying is conveniently illuminated. In the presence of other flags, as well as receiving the most important honour position, it must be hoisted first and lowered last.


Meaning of colours

As the similarity suggests, the Italian tricolour derives from the flag of France, which was born during the French Revolution from the union of white – the colour of the monarchy – with red and blue – the Coat of arms of Paris, colours of Paris, and which became the symbol of social and political renewal perpetrated by the original
Jacobinism A Jacobin (; ) was a member of the Jacobin Club, a revolutionary political movement that was the most famous political club during the French Revolution (1789–1799). The club got its name from meeting at the Dominican rue Saint-Honoré ...
. Green, the first Italian tricolour cockades, symbolised
natural rights Some philosophers distinguish two types of rights, natural rights and legal rights. * Natural rights are those that are not dependent on the laws or customs of any particular culture or government, and so are ''universal'', ''fundamental rights ...
, namely
social equality Social equality is a state of affairs in which all individuals within society have equal rights, liberties, and status, possibly including civil rights, freedom of expression, autonomy, and equal access to certain public goods and social servi ...
and
freedom Freedom is the power or right to speak, act, and change as one wants without hindrance or restraint. Freedom is often associated with liberty and autonomy in the sense of "giving oneself one's own laws". In one definition, something is "free" i ...
. After various events it came to 7 January 1797, the date of the adoption of the tricolour flag by the Cispadane Republic, the first Italian sovereign state to make use of it. During the Napoleonic period, the three colours acquired a more idealistic meaning for the population: the green represents
hope Hope is an optimistic state of mind that is based on an expectation of positive outcomes with respect to events and circumstances in one's own life, or the world at large. As a verb, Merriam-Webster defines ''hope'' as "to expect with confid ...
, the white represents faith and the red represents love. Other less probable conjectures that explain the adoption of the green hypothesise a tribute that Napoleon wanted to give to Corsica, where he was born, or to a possible reference to the verdant Italian landscape. For the adoption of greenery there is also the so-called "Masonic hypothesis": even for Freemasonry, green was the colour of nature, a symbol of human rights, which are naturally inherent in the human being, 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. 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 the Mediterranean maquis, the white to that of the snows of the Alps and the red to the blood spilt in the Italian unification, Wars of Italian Independence and Unification. A more religious and philosophical interpretation is that green represents
hope Hope is an optimistic state of mind that is based on an expectation of positive outcomes with respect to events and circumstances in one's own life, or the world at large. As a verb, Merriam-Webster defines ''hope'' as "to expect with confid ...
, white represents faith, and red represents Charity (virtue), charity (love), in reference to the three theological virtues.


Tricolour Day

To commemorate the birth of the Italian flag, the Tricolour Day was established on 31 December 1996, which is known in Italian as the ''Festa del Tricolore''. It is celebrated every year on 7 January, with the official celebrations being organised in Reggio nell'Emilia, the city where the first official adoption of the tricolour was declared as a
national flag A national flag is a flag that represents and national symbol, symbolizes a given nation. It is Fly (flag), flown by the government of that nation, but can also be flown by its citizens. A national flag is typically designed with specific meanin ...
by an Italian sovereign state, the Cispadane Republic, which took place on 7 January 1797. 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 Italian order of precedence, highest offices of the Italian Republic (the President of Italy, president of the Italian Republic or the Italian Parliament, president of one of the chambers), who attends the flag-raising on the notes of and which renders military honours a reproduction of the flag of the Cispadane Republic. In Rome, at the
Quirinal Palace The Quirinal Palace ( ) is a historic building in Rome, Italy, the main official residence of the President of Italy, President of the Italian Republic, together with Villa Rosebery in Naples and the Tenuta di Castelporziano, an estate on the outs ...
, the ceremonial foresees instead the change of the Guard of honour in solemn form with the deployment and the parade of the Corazzieri, Corazzieri Regiment in gala uniform and the Fanfare of the Carabinieri Cavalry Regiment. This solemn rite is carried out only on three other occasions, during the anniversary of the unification of Italy (17 March), the Festa della Repubblica (2 June) and the National Unity and Armed Forces Day (4 November).


The flag in museums

There are many museums that host at least one historic Italian flag. Located throughout the Italian peninsula, they are mainly located in northern Italy. The most important exhibition space that hosts Italian tricolour flags is found in the architectural complex of the Altare della Patria in Rome. Inside the " Central Museum of the Risorgimento at the Vittoriano", there are about 700 historical flags belonging to the
Italian Army The Italian Army ( []) is the Army, land force branch of the Italian Armed Forces. The army's history dates back to the Italian unification in the 1850s and 1860s. The army fought in colonial engagements in China and Italo-Turkish War, Libya. It ...
, Italian Navy and Italian Air Force departments, as well as the tricolour flag with which it was wrapped in 1921 coffin of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (Italy), Unknown Soldier on his journey to the Altar of the Patria. The oldest tricolour preserved in the Central Museum of the
Risorgimento The unification of Italy ( ), also known as the Risorgimento (; ), was the 19th century political and social movement that in 1861 ended in the annexation of various states of the Italian peninsula and its outlying isles to the Kingdom of ...
dates back to 1860: it is one of the original tricolours that flew on the ''Lombardo''
steamship A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships ...
which, together with ''Piedmont'' steamship, participated in the expedition of the Thousand. The Vittoriano also houses the Flag Memorial (''Sacrario delle Bandiere''), the museum that collects and preserves disused Italian
war flag A war ensign, also known as a military flag, battle flag, or standard, is a variant of a national flag for use by a country's military forces when on land. The nautical equivalent is a naval ensign. Under the strictest sense of the term, few co ...
s. Other exhibition spaces that also host historical tricolour flags in Rome include, the Historical Museum of the Carabinieri, the Historical Museum of the Bersaglieri, the Historical Museum of the Infantry, the Historical Museum of the Mechanized Brigade "Granatieri di Sardegna", Sardinian Grenadiers, the Historical Museum of the Military engineering, the Historical Museum of the Guardia di Finanza and the Historical Museum of Military Motorization. The Tricolour Flag Museum in Reggio 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 the ''Sala del Tricolore (Reggio Emilia), Sala del Tricolore'' where documents and memorabilia attributable to the period between the arrival of
Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
Bonaparte in Reggio (1796) and 1897, the year of the first centenary of the Italian flag are kept. Other exhibition spaces that also host historical tricolour flags in Emilia-Romagna are the Museum of the Risorgimento and of the Italian resistance movement, Resistance in Ferrara, the Civic Museum of the Risorgimento in Modena, the Museum of the Resistance in Montefiorino, the Museum of the Risorgimento, Bologna, Civic Museum of the Risorgimento in Bologna, the Museum of the Risorgimento in Imola and the Museum of the Risorgimento in Piacenza. The Museum of the Risorgimento (Turin), National Museum of the Italian Risorgimento in Turin, the only one of
Risorgimento The unification of Italy ( ), also known as the Risorgimento (; ), was the 19th century political and social movement that in 1861 ended in the annexation of various states of the Italian peninsula and its outlying isles to the Kingdom of ...
that officially has the title of "national", house a rich collection of tricolours, including some dating back to the
revolutions of 1848 The revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the springtime of the peoples or the springtime of nations, were a series of revolutions throughout Europe over the course of more than one year, from 1848 to 1849. It remains the most widespre ...
. Among the relics of the Royal Armory of Turin there is a flag of 1855, a relic in the
Crimean War The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...
, in which the Russian Empire lost to an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, Second French Empire, France, British Empire, Britain and Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia. In
Piedmont Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...
, there are also other museums that host Italian flags in their collections: the National Historical Museum of Artillery in Turin, the Historical Museum of the Cavalry in Pinerolo and the Pietro Badoglio, Badogliano Historical Museum in Grazzano Badoglio. In Liguria, there is the Museum of the Risorgimento and Giuseppe Mazzini, Mazzinian Institute in
Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...
which preserves, among other things, an original flag of the Young Italy, while in La Spezia there is the Naval Technical Museum of the Navy, founded in the 15th century by Amadeus VIII, Duke of Savoy. The Museum of the Risorgimento in Milan houses several tricolours from the Napoleonic era, including a flag of the
Lombard Legion The Lombard Legion (''Legione Lombarda''; ) was a military unit of the Cisalpine Republic which existed from 1796 until the Republic's fall in 1799; but despite the downfall of this sister republic, the Cisalpine troops continued to serve the First ...
dating back to 1797 and delivered to the cohort of hunters on horseback only after the aforementioned ceremony in Piazza del Duomo, Milan, on 6 November 1796. Inside the Milanese museum there is also the tricolour flag dating back to the
Five Days of Milan The Five Days of Milan ( ) was an insurrection and a major event in the Revolutions of 1848, Revolutionary Year of 1848 that started the First Italian War of Independence. On 18 March, a rebellion arose in the city of Milan which in five day ...
that flew from the
Milan Cathedral Milan Cathedral ( ; ), or Metropolitan Cathedral-Basilica of the Nativity of Saint Mary (), is the cathedral church of Milan, Lombardy, Italy. Dedicated to the Nativity of Mary, Nativity of St. Mary (), it is the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdi ...
on 20 March 1848. Near Mantua, in Solferino, is the Museum of the Risorgimento of Solferino and San Martino, which celebrates the 1859 Battle of Solferino, military battle of the same name and which houses many relics of the event, including several tricolour flags. Other exhibition spaces that also host historical tricolour flags in
Lombardy The Lombardy Region (; ) is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in northern Italy and has a population of about 10 million people, constituting more than one-sixth of Italy's population. Lombardy is ...
include the International Museum of the Red Cross in Castiglione delle Stiviere, the Museum of the Risorgimento in Bergamo, the Museum of the Risorgimento in Brescia, the Museum of the Risorgimento in
Como Como (, ; , or ; ) is a city and (municipality) in Lombardy, Italy. It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como. Nestled at the southwestern branch of the picturesque Lake Como, the city is a renowned tourist destination, ce ...
, the Vittoriale degli Italiani in Gardone Riviera, the Museum of the Risorgimento in Mantua, the Museum of the Risorgimento in Pavia and the Museum of the Risorgimento in Voghera. In
Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...
, the Museum of the Risorgimento and the Venetian 19th century preserves the tricolour flag of 1848 which greeted the expulsion of the Austrian Empire, Austrians from the city; Venice also hosts the Naval History Museum, which has an importance comparable to the homonymous exhibition space in La Spezia. The description of the Triveneto museums is completed by the Italian War History Museum in Rovereto, dedicated to World War I, which houses many relics, including several tricolour flags; the Historical Museum of
Trento Trento ( or ; Ladin language, Ladin and ; ; ; ; ; ), also known in English as Trent, is a city on the Adige, Adige River in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol in Italy. It is the capital of the Trentino, autonomous province of Trento. In the 16th ...
, which preserves items dedicated to the Alpini troops, the Museum of the Risorgimento and of the contemporary age in
Padua Padua ( ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Veneto, northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Padua. The city lies on the banks of the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice and southeast of Vicenza, and has a population of 20 ...
, the Museum of the Risorgimento and of the Resistance in
Vicenza Vicenza ( , ; or , archaically ) is a city in northeastern Italy. It is in the Veneto region, at the northern base of the Monte Berico, where it straddles the Bacchiglione, River Bacchiglione. Vicenza is approximately west of Venice and e ...
. In Trieste, there is the Museum of the Risorgimento and the shrine of Guglielmo Oberdan, Oberdan. In Sardinia, in addition to the Museum of the Risorgimento of the State Archives in Cagliari, there is the Museum of the Risorgimento Duca d'Aosta in Sanluri, set up at the castle of Eleonora 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. Other exhibition spaces that also host historical tricolour flags in other regions of Italy include the Domus Mazziniana in Pisa, the
Marche Marche ( ; ), in English sometimes referred to as the Marches ( ) from the Italian name of the region (Le Marche), is one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. The region is located in the Central Italy, central area of the country, ...
museum of the Risorgimento and the Resistance in Macerata, the Museum of the Risorgimento in
Palermo Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...
, which also preserves one of the original tricolour flags belonging to the ''Lombardo''
steamship A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships ...
which participated in the
Expedition of the Thousand The Expedition of the Thousand () was an event of the unification of Italy that took place in 1860. A corps of volunteers led by Giuseppe Garibaldi sailed from Quarto al Mare near Genoa and landed in Marsala, Sicily, in order to conquer the Ki ...
, and the museum of the State Archives in
Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...
which houses, among other things, twelve of the twenty-one tricolour flags requisitioned by the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Bourbon general Carlo Filangieri from the Sicilian patriots of Caltagirone, Catania, Leonforte and Syracuse, Sicily, Syracuse during the Sicilian revolution of 1848.


Similar national flags

The Italian national flag belongs to the family of flags derived from the French tricolour, with all the meanings attached, as mentioned, to the ideals of the French Revolution. Due to the common arrangement of the colours, at first sight, it seems that the only difference between the Italian and the Flag of Mexico, Mexican flag is only the coat 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. 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 the International Maritime Organization, both Italy and Mexico adopted naval flags with different crests. Also due to the Italian layout, the Italian flag is also quite similar to the flag of Ireland, with the exception of orange instead of red (although the shades used for these two colours are very similar) and proportions (2:3 against 1:2). The Flag of Hungary, Hungarian flag has the same colours as the Italian one, but on the Magyar banner the red, white and green tricolour is arranged horizontally. Another banner chromatically similar to the Italian one is the flag 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. Similar to the Hungarian banner is the flag of Iran, but green and red are reversed. In the flag of Madagascar green and red are in horizontal bands while white is in vertical band. The flag of Oman is similar to the Bulgarian banner, but the green and red colors are reversed (the flag of Oman may also be similar to the flag of Hungary, but the red and white colors are reversed), while the flag of Tajikistan is similar to the Hungarian banner. Finally, they present other combinations of the three colours, the flags of Madagascar, Suriname, and Burundi. The flag 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. The flag of Burundi instead has a white Saltire, Saint Andrew's Cross that divides the cloth into four triangular sections, the upper and lower ones red and the lateral ones green.


The flag in the arts


In the visual arts

Famous paintings dating back to the unification of Italy whose subject revolves around the tricolour are ''Pasquale Sottocorno assaulting the Military Engineering Palace during the Five Days of Milan'' (1860) by Pietro Bouvier, ''Charles Albert of Piedmont-Sardinia on the balcony of the Greppi Palace'' (1848) by Carlo Bossoli, ''Little patriots'' (1862) by Gioacchino Toma, ''Garibaldi lands in Marsala'' (late 19th century), ''The departure of the volunteers'' (1877–1878), ''The departure of the Garibaldine'' (1860), ''The departure of the conscripts in 1866'' (1878) ''The return of the wounded soldier'' (1854), all by Gerolamo Induno, ''The first Italian flag brought to Florence'' (1859) by Francesco Saverio Altamura, ''The wounded soldier'' (1865–1870) by Angelo Trezzini, ''Episode of the Five Days in Piazza Sant'Alessandro'' by Carlo Stragliati (late 19th century), ''Fighting at Litta Palace'' (half 19th century) by Baldassare Verazzi, ''The brothers are in the field! Remembrance of Venice'' (1869) by Mosè Bianchi, ''The breach of Porta Pia'' (1880) by Carlo Ademollo, ''On 26 April 1859'' (1861) by Odoardo Borrani, and ''Garibaldi's Burial'' (1862–64) by Filippo Liardo. The tricolour often recurs in the paintings of Italian painters adhering to futurism. In particular, Giacomo Balla has often used the symbol of the Italian flag in some patriotic works such as ''Flag Waving'', ''Interventionist Demonstration'' and ''Demonstration Capture of Rome, 20th September''.


In music

The first songs on the tricolour started to be composed shortly after its official adoption on 7 January 1797. The most famous popular musical composition written in this period and dedicated to the Italian flag is ''To the tricolour'', which reads: Most of the songs dedicated to the Italian flag were written during the unification of Italy. The most famous is ''The flag of the three colours'', sung in all Italian primary schools for decades: During the battle of Aspromonte (29 August 1862), the notes of ''The tricolour flag'', by an unknown author, rang out; the flag is also mentioned in ''Garibaldi's hymn'', a 1859 song by Luigi Mercantini, which accompanied the
Expedition of the Thousand The Expedition of the Thousand () was an event of the unification of Italy that took place in 1860. A corps of volunteers led by Giuseppe Garibaldi sailed from Quarto al Mare near Genoa and landed in Marsala, Sicily, in order to conquer the Ki ...
. Other pieces from the unification of Italy celebrating the tricolour are Giuseppe Bertoldi's ''Liberation of Milan'', ''O Ardent young people'' by an anonymous author and Luigi Mercantini's ''War Hymn of 1848–49''. The Italian flag is then mentioned in the musical composition ''The bell of San Giusto'' and in the piece ''Faccetta Nera'', written by Renato Micheli and set to music by Mario Ruccione in April 1935 on the occasion of the Second Italo-Ethiopian War (1935–1936). The 1961 song ''The Flag'' by Domenico Modugno was also dedicated to the flag. In 1965, singer Ivan Della Mea recalled the tricolour as a symbol of national unity in the song ''9th May''. The song refers to the event organized on 9 May 1965 in memory of the 20eth anniversary of the Liberation of Italy (1943–1945). In March 2007, singer-songwriter Graziano Romani published the album ''Three colours'', inspired by the Italian flag and the occasion in which the tricolour was adopted in his hometown,
Reggio Emilia Reggio nell'Emilia (; ), usually referred to as Reggio Emilia, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, and known until Unification of Italy, 1861 as Reggio di Lombardia, is a city in northern Italy, in the Emilia-Romagna region. It has about 172,51 ...
.


In literature

Many Romantic poetry, romantic poets treated the tricolour flag in their literary works, drawing juxtapositions and symbolisms:


See also

* Cockade of Italy * Flags of Napoleonic Italy * Flags of regions of Italy * List of Italian flags * National symbols of Italy * Sala del Tricolore * Tricolour Day * Tricolour Flag Museum * Flag of Mexico


Notes


References


Bibliography

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External links

* *
La Bandiera degli italiani
Presidenza della Repubblica, Palazzo del Quirinale *
Centro Italiano Studi Vessillologici
(Italian Centre for the Study of Vexillology) {{DEFAULTSORT:Flag of Italy Culture of Italy National flags, Italy Flags of Italy, Italian unification National symbols of Italy Flags with green, red and white, Italy Vertically symmetrical flags, Italy Flags introduced in 1946, Italy