Symbolism of the Tricolore

The Tricolore is one of the symbols of the Republic, together with the national anthem and the emblem. Under article 12 of the Constitution, which places it among the fundamental principles, the flag of the Republic is the Italian tricolour: green, white and red, in three vertical bands of equal size. This guide describes the origin of the colours, the meanings that have been given to them and the flag's value for the institutions.

From cockade to flag

According to the State Ceremonial Office's publication on the flag, the Tricolore originated in the cockade worn by students in Bologna during the first uprisings of 1794. Modelled on the cockade of the French Revolution, it was made of three ribbons of different colours, with one difference: green instead of blue. One of the very rare surviving examples is kept at the University of Bologna.

On 7 January 1797, in Reggio Emilia, the Parliament of the Cispadane Republic adopted the green, white and red flag. It had horizontal bands, with the republic's emblem in the centre: a quiver with four arrows, symbolising the provinces, within a laurel wreath. A few months later the Cisalpine Republic adopted the tricolour with vertical bands.

The meaning of the colours

No rule gives the three colours an official meaning. Over time they have been read in different ways:

These readings recur often in the songs of the Risorgimento collected by the State Ceremonial Office. In "Passa la ronda" by Teobaldo Ciconi, from 1848, green is hope, white faith and red the wounds of the heroes. The Italian Navy notes that for a long time the colours had no precise definition and were described as green as grass, white as snow and red as blood.

The functions of the flag

The Ceremonial Office's publication refers to the report accompanying Law no. 22/1998, according to which the Tricolore expresses three functions:

• Italianness, as the cultural identity of the Italian people;
• the sovereignty of the State, as the means of protecting the needs of individuals and of the community;
• the feeling of Italian union, as awareness of the bond between all citizens, regardless of faith and ideology.

From these functions follows, according to the Ceremonial Office, the duty to display the flag with the utmost dignity. The rules are in the guide to the flag rules.

The Tricolore and unification

The Tricolore became the flag of the Kingdom of Sardinia in 1848, when Charles Albert chose for his troops the Savoy shield on the Italian flag, and in 1861 the flag of the Kingdom of Italy. With the Republic, in 1946, the Savoy shield was removed. Since 2012, 17 March, the anniversary of the proclamation of unification, has been the Day of National Unity, the Constitution, the Anthem and the Flag. The meaning of the occasions is described in the guide to flags on holidays.

The Tricolore Museum

In Reggio Emilia, in the town hall, the room in which the Tricolore was born on 7 January 1797 is today the Sala del Tricolore. Next to it, the Museo del Tricolore, devoted to the history of the flag, was set up between 2004 and 2006. The history of the flagpole and the flag in Italy is told in the guide to the history of the flagpole, and the types of flags in the guide to flag types.