The Flag of the Republic of Venice, commonly known as the Banner or Standard of Saint Mark (''stendardo di San Marco''), was the symbol 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 ...

, until its dissolution in 1797. Its main

charge Charge or charged may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Charge, Zero Emissions/Maximum Speed'', a 2011 documentary Music * ''Charge'' (David Ford album) * ''Charge'' (Machel Montano album) * '' Charge!!'', an album by The Aqu ...

was the

Lion of Saint Mark The Lion of Saint Mark, representing Mark the Evangelist, pictured in the form of a winged lion, is an aspect of the Tetramorph. On the pinnacle of St Mark's Cathedral he is depicted as holding a Bible, and surmounting a golden lion which i ...

, symbolizing

Mark the Evangelist Mark the Evangelist (Koine Greek, Koinē Greek: Μᾶρκος, romanized: ''Mârkos''), also known as John Mark (Koine Greek, Koinē Greek language, Greek: Ἰωάννης Μᾶρκος, Romanization of Greek, romanized: ''Iōánnēs Mârkos;'' ...

, the

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy or Oriental Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, fa ...

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 ...

. A distinguishing feature of the flag is its six fringes, which were added to represent the original six

sestiere A (; : , ) is an administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions () and provinces (). The can also have the title of (). Formed a ...

of Venice. The fringes also serve to prevent damage being caused to the central section of the flag by wind. During times of peace, the Lion of Saint Mark was depicted alongside an open book. However, when the Republic was at war the Bible was replaced with the lion grasping an upright sword. During the ''corteo dogale'' (), four banners of Saint Mark with different background colours, white, purple, blue, and red, were carried, with the one in front representing the state of the republic at that time (at peace, in a truce, in an alliance, at war, respectively). When at war, the war version of the Lion of Saint Mark was used. The flag inspired the modern flag of the Veneto region in Italy.

History

It is unclear as to when the republic officially adopted the flag. One chronicler, John the Deacon, described how in 998 Doge Pietro Orseolo II was presented with a "''triumphale vexillum''" (triumphal banner) before leading a naval expedition against the

Narentines The Narentines were a South Slavic tribe noted as pirates on the Adriatic Sea in the 9th and 10th centuries. They occupied an area of southern Dalmatia centered at the river Neretva (). Named ''Narentani'' in Venetian sources, they were called ...

, pirates who moored off the eastern coast of the

Adriatic The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Se ...

and harassed Venetian seamen. However, this chronicle does not explicitly mention the use of the Lion of Saint Mark within the flag or mention the colours used upon the banner. The first recorded use of the Lion of Saint Mark on a red field by the Venetians dates back to the late thirteenth century. Genoese archivist

Jacobus de Voragine Jacobus de Voragine, OP (13/16 July 1298) was an Italian chronicler and archbishop of Genoa. He was the author, or more accurately the compiler, of the '' Golden Legend'', a collection of the legendary lives of the greater saints of the mediev ...

makes reference to the Lion of Saint Mark as the official symbol for Venice. He also mentions how the phrase "PAX TIBI MARCE EVANGELISTA MEUS" was found on the flag. The winged lion was chosen as a symbol of Venice due to its connotations with Saint Mark. Venetian tradition states how Saint Mark was travelling from

Aquileia Aquileia is an ancient Roman city in Italy, at the head of the Adriatic at the edge of the lagoons, about from the sea, on the river Natiso (modern Natisone), the course of which has changed somewhat since Roman times. Today, the city is small ( ...

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, ...

when an Angel appeared whilst he was in the lagoon of Venice and stated '''Pax tibi, Marce, evangelista meus. Hic requiescet corpus tuum (Peace be with thee, O Mark, my evangelist. Here thy body will rest). The legend was used in 828 by Venetian merchants Rustico da Torcello and Bon da Malamocco to justify their journey to

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

to take the corpse of Saint Mark to Venice and inter it within the city. From that moment Saint Mark became the patron saint of Venice and thus began the association between the city and the winged lion. Vexillologist

Whitney Smith Whitney Smith Jr. (February 26, 1940 – November 17, 2016) was an American vexillologist. He coined the term ''vexillology'', which refers to the scholarly analysis of all aspects of flags. He was a founder of several vexillology organizat ...

suggests that the colours chosen, red and gold, were selected on the basis that they were the colours of the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

, the previous rulers of the region. For 337 years 12 Gonfalonieri, mercenaries from

Perast Perast () is a town in Coastal Montenegro, Coastal region of Montenegro. It is situated a few kilometres northwest of Kotor and is noted for its proximity to the islets of Sveti Đorđe Island, St. George and Our Lady of the Rocks. History Acc ...

(modern day

Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...

), were appointed by the

Venetian senate The Senate (), formally the ''Consiglio dei Pregadi'' or ''Rogati'' (, ), was the main deliberative and legislative body of the Republic of Venice. Establishment The Venetian Senate was founded in 1229, or less likely shortly before that date. ...

to guard the flag of the Republic at all times on the pain of death. 8 were executed in 1571 after the

Battle of Lepanto The Battle of Lepanto was a naval warfare, naval engagement that took place on 7 October 1571 when a fleet of the Holy League (1571), Holy League, a coalition of Catholic states arranged by Pope Pius V, inflicted a major defeat on the fleet of t ...

for failing to protect it. Following the

fall of the Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice was dissolved and dismembered by the French general Napoleon Bonaparte and the Habsburg monarchy on 12 May 1797, ending approximately 1,100 years of its existence. It was the final action of Napoleon's Italian campaign ...

in May 1797 by

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

, the Lion of Saint Mark was suppressed throughout Venice. As a result, the traditional flag of the Republic of Venice was abolished and replaced with two equal horizontal bands of blue on top of yellow. The last place where the flag was used as a symbol of the Republic was Perast, in

Venetian Albania Venetian Albania (, , , , ) was the official term for several possessions of the Republic of Venice in the southeastern Adriatic, encompassing coastal territories primarily in present-day southern Montenegro and partially in northern Albania. Se ...

, a town faithful to Venice. Perast continued to celebrate its loyalty to Venice for several months by continuing to fly the flag. On 23 August 1797, the Austrian navy arrived in the town and the Banner of St. Mark was hauled down for the last time. Captain Joko Viskovich made a speech in the local language, stating "''The history of this day will be known throughout all Europe, how Perast has maintained, with dignity, to the very end, the honour of the Venetian flag, honouring it with this solemn act, lowering it to the ground, bathed in our universal and bitter tears. Usage of the Lion of Saint Mark in the flag of Venice would not return until 1848, when it appeared in the canton of the flag of the

Republic of San Marco The Republic of San Marco () or the Venetian Republic () was an Italian revolutionary state which existed for 17 months in 1848–1849. Based on the Venetian Lagoon, it extended into most of Venetia, or the '' Terraferma'' territory of the f ...

Modern usage

The flag enjoys continued usage throughout the city of Venice. It can be found flying from the balconies of homes, hotels, and government offices. Some residents of the city also elect to fly the flag as an

ensign Ensign most often refers to: * Ensign (flag), a flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality * Ensign (rank), a navy (and former army) officer rank Ensign or The Ensign may also refer to: Places * Ensign, Alberta, Alberta, Canada * Ensign, Ka ...

from the

stern The stern is the back or aft-most part of a ship or boat, technically defined as the area built up over the sternpost, extending upwards from the counter rail to the taffrail. The stern lies opposite the bow, the foremost part of a ship. O ...

of private boats, whilst some gondoliers choose to attach the flag to their

gondola The gondola (, ; , ) is a traditional, flat-bottomed Venetian rowing boat, well suited to the conditions of the Venetian lagoon. It is typically propelled by a gondolier, who uses a rowing oar, which is not fastened to the hull, in a scul ...

. On some occasions, the flag of the Republic of Venice flies atop a flagpole outside

St. Mark's Basilica The Patriarchal Cathedral Basilica of Saint Mark (), commonly known as St Mark's Basilica (; ), is the cathedral church of the Patriarchate of Venice; it became the episcopal seat of the Patriarch of Venice in 1807, replacing the earlier cathed ...

Piazza San Marco Piazza San Marco (; ), often known in English as St Mark's Square, is the principal Town Square, public square of Venice, Italy, where it is generally known just as ''la Piazza'' ("the Square"). The Piazzetta ("little Piazza/Square") is an ext ...

. Even if it is not the flag of the Veneto region, it is preferred by people and institutions across the entire region because of its symbolic meaning of the unity of Venetian people and the historic heritage of the Republic of Venice. The flag can be seen in many other cities as Verona and Treviso, but it is used in some towns from

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 ...

too, once under the rule of Venice. The Venetian people tend to recognize themselves in this flag, which has become the true symbol of their unity. Usage of the flag has also been adopted as a symbol by some claiming to represent the Venetian regionalist movement. The flag of the Republic of Venice appears alongside the flag of

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 ...

, the Cross of Pisa, and the flag of the

Republic of Amalfi The Duchy of Amalfi () or the Republic of Amalfi was a '' de facto'' independent state centered on the Southern Italian city of Amalfi during the 10th and 11th centuries. The city and its territory were originally part of the larger Duchy of Na ...

on the ensign of the Italian navy.

Gallery

Historical flags of the municipality File:Flag of Venice (1879).svg, alt=(1879–1942) 41879–1942 File:Flag of Venice (1942).svg, alt=(1942–1945 de facto; 1997 de jure) 51942–1947 ''de facto''; 1997 ''de jure'' File:Flag of Venice (1922).svg, alt=(1922 de facto – 1997 de facto) 61922 ''de facto'' – 1997 ''de facto'' File:Flag of Venice.svg, alt=(1997–present) 71997–present Historical flags of the republic State flags File:Variant flag of the Serene Republic of Venice.svg, alt=Flag of the Republic of Venice, showing the Lion of Saint Mark holding a Bible, associated with peace. 8Flag of the

, showing the

holding a Bible, associated with peace. File:Variant war flag of the Serene Republic of Venice.svg, alt=Flag of the Republic of Venice, showing the Lion of Saint Mark holding a sword, associated with war. 9Flag of the

, showing the

holding a sword, associated with war. File:Standard of the Republic of Venice (1648).svg, Heraldic Standard of 1648 File:Flag of Republic of Venice (1659-1675).svg, alt=Official flag of the Republic of Venice used by the Doge Domenico Contarini (1659-1675) 122] 324], Official flag of the Republic of Venice used by the Doge Domenico II Contarini, Domenico Contarini (1659-1675) File:Flag of the Republic of Saint Mark.svg, alt=Flag of the Republic of San Marco (1848-1849) 5

Flag A flag is a piece of textile, fabric (most often rectangular) with distinctive colours and design. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design employed, and fla ...

of the

(1848-1849) Naval and land fortifications flags File:Naval and land fortifications flag of the Republic of Venice (XII-XIII century).svg, alt=, 12th-13th century File:Naval and land fortifications flag of the Republic of Venice (XIV century).svg, alt=, 14th century. File:Naval and land fortifications flag of the Republic of Venice (XIV century-1797).svg, alt=, 14th century-1797 File:Naval and land fortifications flag of the Republic of Venice (XVIII century-1797 variant).svg, alt=, Variant in use during the last years of the republic File:Naval and land fortifications flag of the Republic of Venice (XVIII century-1797 land variant).svg, Variant in use during the last years of the republic flown on land fortifications

Additional images

File:Venice flag.jpg, A modern-day replica of the flag flown from a balcony in Venice File:Venezia-DSCF9899.JPG File:Flag of Veneto.svg,

of the Italian administrative region of

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 ...

(adopted in 1975) File:Giovanni Antonio Canal, il Canaletto - The Bucintoro Returning to the Molo on Ascension Day - WGA03887.jpg,

Canaletto Giovanni Antonio Canal (18 October 1697 – 19 April 1768), commonly known as Canaletto (), was an Italian painter from the Republic of Venice, considered an important member of the 18th-century Venetian school. Painter of cityscapes or ...

(1730) - The venetian flag on the Bucintoro

History

Modern usage

Gallery

Additional images

References

Notes

Further reading