The Story of the Italian Flag

The Flag and its Many Changes

The design of the Italian flag has undergone numerous changes throughout Italy's history. In fact, one could say that the chronicle of the Italian flag represents the incredible journey in history which eventually united the Italian people under one nation.

In 1802, the Italian Republic was formed and adopted a new flag. This flag was still comprised of the same three colors, but was altered in design, although it was still in the shape of a square. The flag of the Italian Republic was red with a white rhombus in the center and a green square in the middle of the white.

The Italian Republic soon became the Kingdom of Italy in 1805, when Napoleon became emperor. The flag of the Kingdom of Italy was similar to that of the Italian Republic, except that the square flag became rectangular in shape, and the eagle of Napoleon was added into the center of the former design. This flagged remained in use during Napoleon's rule, which lasted until 1814.

The Italian states were not widely united under one flag again until the year of 1848. In this year, the tricolor flag was again adopted as the national Italian flag, with vertical stripes of red, white, and green. Savoy's coat of arms was displayed in the center of this flag. The Venetian and Roman regions later adopted similar flags, which further symbolized the progressing unity of the Italian states.

By the time Rome was appointed as the capital city of the Kingdom of Italy in 1872, a crown had been added to the center of the tricolor flag by King Vittorio Emmanuele II. The crown and Savoy's coat of arms remained as a part of Italy's flag until Italy officially became a republic in 1946, ending the monarchy rule. The flag now consisted only of the red, white, and green vertical stripes. This design has remained as Italy's national flag to date.

The colors of the Italian flag can be interpreted in two different ways. One is that green symbolizes hope, while white represents faith and red signifies charity. Another interpretation pronounces green to be the symbol of the Italian landscape, white as the representation of the snow capping the mountains of the Alps, and red symbolizing the bloodshed that brought about the independence of Italy as a nation. All of these symbols embody the presence of unity and nationalism among the Italian people.

By Elizabeth Walling