Talking Italian

The Italian Flag

—

by

Kim James
in

The Italian Flag

The flag of Italy, or in Italian:

bandiera d’Italia

is a three-coloured or tri-colour flag that is often referred to in Italy as:

il Tricolore

The flag features three equally-sized vertical stripes of green, white and red and the green strip is always placed nearest to the flagpole.
 

The Italian Flag - il Tricolore
The Italian Flag – il Tricolore

Origins of the Italian Flag

The Italian tricolour was first used by the Cispadane Republic in 1797 and the colours were the red and white from the flag of Milan and green from the uniforms of the Milanese civic guard. At that time the flag also featured the coat of arms and a crown at the centre.
 
When Italy became a Republic the simple tricolour without the coat of arms was used as the Italian flag – and this was formally adopted on 1st January 1948.
 

Other Meanings of the Italian Flag

The military origins of the three colours may be historically accurate but perhaps lacks the romance required by the Italians themselves. It is widely accepted in Italy that the colours represent Italy itself:
 

  • green for the Italian hills and plains
  • white for the snow of the Alps
  • red representing the blood spilt in the Italian Wars of Independence

Another interpretation is religious and offers meaning to the colours:
 

  • green represents hope
  • white represents faith
  • red represents charity

Whatever interpretation you prefer, one thing is certain – Italians take their flag very much to heart. When Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi attempted in 2003 to introduce some subtle changes to the colours he was of “a veritable chromatic coup d’etat” by opposition leaders.
 

Italian Flag – Pantone Colours

The authentic colours of the Italian Flag were specified by the government in 2006 with the official Pantone colours defined by law:
 

  • Green Fern Green 17-6153 TC
  • White Bright White 11-0601 TC
  • Red Flame Scarlet 18-1662 TC

My Italian Food Flag

One of the images that I’ve used in my Web site header is inspired by:
 

  • the Italian flag
  • three major ingredients in Italian food

and so I’ve re-created the Italian flag using:
 

  • basil
  • Mozzarella cheese
  • tomatoes
Italian Food Flag
Italian Food Flag

 

References

www.explore-italian-culture.com/italian-flag-colors.html
 
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Italy
 
www.understandingitaly.com/profile-content/flag.html
 
BBC: Italian opposition in flap over flag