The flag of Italy (often referred to in Italian as Il Tricolore) is a tricolor featuring three equally sized vertical bands of green, white and red, with the green at the hoist side. Together with the national anthem, Il Canto degli Italiani (better known as Fratelli d'Italia), it is the symbol of Italy. Contents 1 Meanings of the colors 2 Similarities to other flags 3 History 3.1 Pre-unitarian flags (until 1848) 3.2 Independence and Kingdom of Italy 3.2.1 1848-1849 3.2.2 Kingdom of Italy - 1861-1946 3.3 Italian Republic 3.4 Flag day 3.5 The colours specification 4 References 5 External links Meanings of the colors The colors were originally an adaptation of the Flag of France, with green instead of blue. Some have tried to attribute some particular values to the colors, and a common interpretation is that green is for the plains and the hills, white for the snowy Alps, and red for the blood spilt in the Italian Independence wars. A more religious interpretation is that green represents hope, white represents faith and red represents charity. This interpretation connects to the three theological virtues. Similarities to other flags Given its derivation from the flag of France, Italian tricolore is similar to many flags that have the same origin. Among others, the Italian flag is similar to the Flag of Ireland, which is green, white and orange, and to the Côte d'Ivoire flag, which is, on the contrary, orange, white and green. It shows also resemblance with the flag of Mexico. History Pre-unitarian flags (until 1848) 1796 - flag of the "Repubblica Transpadana" 1797 - flag of the "Repubblica Cispadana" 1798 - flag of the "Repubblica Cisalpina" 1802 - flag of the Napoleonic "Repubblica Italiana" 1805 - flag of the Napoleonic "Regno d'Italia" As the case of other flags, also this flag was derived by the flag of France, adopted with the French Revolution of 1789. When, in 1796, the French Army led by Napoleon Bonaparte entered into Italy, both the new republic (Repubblica Transpadana, Transpadane Republic) and the military group attached to French army adopted the flags similar to the Italian tricolor. Probably, the colors have been chosen according to Legione Lombarda flag: it summed Milan city colors (red and white) to the green of Milan Civic Guard uniforms. The same colors were adopted by the Legione Italiana, formed by soldiers coming from Emilia and Romagna. The eighteenth-century Sala del Tricolore, now site of the Reggio Emilia Town Council. Here, on 7 January 1797, the first tricolor of the Repubblica Cispadana was adopted. The first Italian tricolor was adopted on 7 January 1797, in Reggio Emilia, as official flag of the Repubblica Cispadana (Cispadane Republic). It was a horizontal tricolor, with red (top), white and green stripes; in the middle, an emblem composed by a quiver, accolade to a war trophy, with four arrows that symbolized the four provinces forming the Po federation; all within a crown of bay. The Repubblica Cispadana and the Repubblica Transpadana merged into the Repubblica Cisalpina (Cisalpine Republic), which adopted the vertical Italian tricolor without emblem in 1798, even if in a square shape. The flag was mantained until 1802, after the republic was renamed Repubblica Italiana (Italian Republic); in 1802 a new square flag was adopted, with a red field carrying a white rhombus and a green square in the middle of the white rhombus. In 1799, the Republic of Lucca came under French influence, and adopted as flag a green-white-red horizontal tricolor, up to 1801. After Napoleon became emperor, in 1805, the Repubblica Italiana was turned into Regno d'Italia (Kingdom of Italy), ruled by Napoleon himself; the flag of the Regno d'Italia was the Repubblica Italiana flag in rectangular shape, with Napoleon's eagle on the central white square. This flag was in use until the abdication of Napoleon, in 1814. Independence and Kingdom of Italy 1848 - flag of the Kingdom of Sardinia (and from 1861 of the Kingdom of Italy), with Savoy's coat of arms in the middle. 1848 - flag of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany during the First Italian Independence war. The flag bears the coat of arms of the Habsburg-Lorraine family, decorated with Italian tricolours; note, however, that the coat of arms bears the red-white-red flag of Austria, the opponent of Italian unification. 1848-49 - flag of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. It is the traditional flag of the Kingdom, white with Two Sicilies coat of arms, with red and green border. 1848-49 - flag of the Temporary Government of Venice. It is an Italian tricolour with a white canton bearing the lion of St. Mark. 1849 - war flag of the "Repubblica Romana". The state flag had no letters. 1860-61 - flag of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. Between the 1848 and 1861, a sequence of events led to the independence and unification of Italy (apart Venetian region, Rome, and Trento and Trieste, which were united to Italy in 1866, 1870 and 1918 respectively); this period is known as Risorgimento. Throughout this period, the tricolore was the symbol which united all the efforts of the Italian people towards freedom and independence. 1848-1849 As regards Italian flag history, 1848 is a very important year, since many states in Italy changed their flags to reflect the commitment of all Italians to their motherland independence. The Italian tricolor was adopted as war flag of Kingdom of Sardinia army: it contained Savoy royal house's coat of arms in the white stripe. In his Proclamation to Lombard-Venetian people, Charles Albert of Savoy said that … in order to show more clearly with exterior signs the commitment to Italian unification, We [Charles Albert] want that our troops … have the Savoy shield superimposed on the Italian tricolor flag. Since the Savoy coat of arms had a white cross that mixed with the white stripe of the Italian tricolor, a border was added to the shield, blue as the color of the dynasty. In the same year, the Granducato di Toscana (Grand Duchy of Tuscany) became constitutional, and dropped the Austrian flag with Austria-Lorraine great coat of arms, in favour of the Italian tricolor with a simplified coat of arms. The flag of the Regno delle Due Sicilie (Kingdom of the Two Sicilies), which was white with the Borbonic seal in the middle, was modified through the addition of a red and green border. This flag lasted from April 3 1848 to May 19, 1849. In the same year, Venetian people revolted against Austrian government, declaring the birth of the Venice Republic. The flag adopted marked the link to Italian independence and unification efforts; it was the Italian tricolor with, in the upper green canton, a white rectangle bordered with green/white/red colors and charged with the golden St. Mark's lion. In 1849, Repubblica Romana (Roman Republic) adopted the Italian tricolor with (on the war flag) a double black 'R' on the white stripe. Kingdom of Italy - 1861-1946 The flag of the Kingdom of Italy, bearing for 85 years the coat of arms of the House of Savoy on the Italian tricolour. In 1860, a new version of the flag of the Regno delle Due Sicilie was adopted: the Italian tricolor with Borbonic seal on the white stripe. Adopted on June 21 1860, dismissed in March 1861, with the kingdom being incorporated into Regno d'Italia (Kingdom of Italy). On 15 April 1861, Kingdom of Sardinia/Piedmont flag (the Italian tricolor with Savoy's coat of arms) is declared national flag of the newly-formed Regno d'Italia (Kingdom of Italy). The Italian tricolor with Savoy's coat of arms was the Italian flag for 85 years, until the fall of the royal house of Italy. Italian Republic Current flag of the President of the Italian Republic. Marina Militare. In its current form, the Italian flag was adopted on 1 January 1948, with the introduction of the republican constitution, and the end of the rule of the House of Savoy over Italy. The Italian Constitution states (art. 12) that "The flag of the Republic is the Italian tricolor: green, white and red, in three vertical bands having equal dimensions". The universally adopted ratio is 2:3, while the war flags are squared. Italian military navy ensign is composed by the flag of Italy with a rostred crown and the Marina Militare emblem on the white third; merchant ships use another version without the crown, and with the lion holding a book instead of a sword. The shield is divided into four squares representing the four great maritime republics of Italy: Venice (represented by the lion, top left), Genoa (top right), Amalfi (bottom left), and Pisa (represented by their respective crosses). Also the President of the Italian Republic has an official flag. The current version is a squared blue flag, with in the middle the flag of the Italian Republic (Napoleonic), with the golden coat of arms of Italy on the green square. Flag day In 1997, on the second centenary of the Italian tricolore, January 7 has been declared "national flag day" (law no. 671, December 31, 1996). It is a celebration, but working, day. The colours specification In March 2003, after 207 years in service, the colors of the Italian flag were officially specified, but later changed, after hot debates on the chosen shades. As of 2006, the official Pantone textile colors are [1]: 17-6153 TC   (fern green) 11-0601 TC   (bright white) 18-1662 TC   (flame scarlet) The act to decree by law the "authentic" colors of the flag has been criticized by Alessandro Martinelli of Centro Italiano Studi Vessillologici (CISV) as lacking any historical meaning: [It should be understood that] "flag colors, being, like arms' colors, symbols are not univocally and physically defined colors; they are rather "ideal" colors, whose perception is and has to be first of all intellectual. This general setup is at the basis of the chromatic system of the original Heraldry, that has never posed itself the problem of shades, in any way. The terms black, white, yellow, red, green, azure need in fact no further explanation to be fully understood. The fundamental error does not lie in pointing out shades or, better, ranges of shades as a guideline for flag manifacturing; this is to some extent admissible: what is unacceptable is the willing to define univocally, and by law, the color with a unique Pantone number and estabilishing that one 'only' is the true flag. What's more, the adoption of the Pantone system, does not only pose undoubted practical limitations, but is most times deemed to remain a dead letter. A brand-new flag would be 'outlawed' within a few days because of the (although slight) discoloration caused by sunlight and atmospherical agents. Without taking into accounts the impossibility to find suitable materials in any corner of the world and under any circumstances." References Italy at Flags of the World Law no. 671, December 31, 1996 (in Italian) External links Il Tricolore at the Italian Republic Presidency website Centro Italiano Studi Vessillologici (in Italian) Commemorative stamp for the 200th anniversary of the Italian tricolor Flags of Europe Flag of: Albania • Andorra • Armenia • Austria • Azerbaijan • Belarus • Belgium • Bosnia and Herzegovina • Bulgaria • Croatia • Cyprus • Czech Republic • Denmark • Estonia • Finland • France • Georgia • Germany • Greece • Hungary • Iceland • Ireland • Italy • Latvia • Liechtenstein • Lithuania • Luxembourg • Republic of Macedonia • Malta • Moldova • Monaco • Montenegro • Netherlands • Norway • Poland • Portugal • Romania • Russia • San Marino • Serbia • Slovakia • Slovenia • Spain • Sweden • Switzerland • Turkey • Ukraine • United Kingdom • Vatican City Territories: Åland • Faroe Islands • Gibraltar • Guernsey • Jan Mayen • Jersey • Isle of Man • Svalbard National flags National coats of arms Flags of sovereign states Coats of arms of sovereign states Flags of dependent territories Flags of unrecognized states Coats of arms of dependent territories Coats of arms of unrecognized states Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Italy" Categories: Italian culture | National flags | Risorgimento