Flag of Italy. Colors of the national flag of Italy

One of the three symbols of the state is the flag. Usually in the color of the flag, in its size, shape, presence of a coat of arms or other symbols, in general, in the way it looks, the history of the country is reflected.

Possible origin of the colors of the flag

Italy is an ancient country. Here the whole of European civilization was born, wars were going on, new countries appeared. And all this in some measure reflected the flag of Italy. The history of the final version of the state symbol does not have an unambiguous interpretation. Tricolor - colors of green, white, red - are interpreted in different ways. There are playful statements ("colors of pasta, greens and tomatoes"), there are strict and solemn - justice, equality, brotherhood. White and green colors are often compared with the snows and valleys of Italy. And red is sometimes associated with the color of blood shed for the liberation and unification of the beloved country.

Exterior of the Italian flag

The national flag of Italy is a cloth of three equal and multi-colored parts (the ratio of the sides is 2: 3). The official interpretation is as follows: green color (the first from the shaft) symbolizes faith, white color - hope, red color - love. It sounds beautiful and symbolic for this cheerful, singing and sunny country. Now the strips are arranged vertically, in the original version they went horizontally. Whatever the version of the banner, it can not be denied that white and red colors were inherent in state symbols from ancient times. In Italy, the most revered saint - Ambrose of Milan (Mediolan - in ancient times Milan), the baptizer of St. Augustine. His lifetime authority was so great that this figure influenced state policy. Along with Hieronymus of Stridon, Aurelius Augustine Blessed and Gregory the Great, he belongs to the greatest teachers of the Latin church. Being a bishop of Milan, Ambrose Mediolanus enjoyed boundless respect, popular trust and love. His cross consisted of two colors - white and red, then they passed into the heraldic colors of Milan, the color of the form of the defenders of law and order which was green.

First appearance

For the first time, the current flag of Italy appeared in the form of the banner of the Lombard Legion in 1796. It differed from the modern banner by its only square form. The appearance of it was preceded by very tragic events. Italy as such at that time was not, and the Apennine peninsula covered numerous scattered kingdoms and counties. Many of them were under strict control of the Pontifical state. The northern city of Bologna became famous for its most ancient university, founded in 1088. Here, the student unrest began in 1794, Napoleon was considered then a liberator, and the university youth literally prayed for him. The two leaders of the uprising, Luigi Zamboni (according to some evidence, he originally acted in the interests of Bonaparte) and Jovani Batista De Rolandis, led a mutiny, composed a hymn and invented ribbons-cockades in the style of French, but with national colors - green, white and red. The leaders of the uprising tragically perished. But soon Italy was conquered by Napoleon, and the heroes - solemnly reburied on Mount Montagnola. And the colors of the flag - a symbol of rebellion - went to the banner.

Other variants of the origin of the flag

But not everyone agrees with such a romantic version and argues that the flag of Italy (in the opinion of V. Fiorini, the famous musician) absorbed the colors of so authoritative then Milan. There are absolutely prosaic variants: if at the time when the symbol of the revolution was needed to raise the spirit, it was stitched up by an ardent patriot from improvised pieces of material, in fact, not guided by any rules.

Under the auspices of France, new state entities are beginning to be created. Thus, the small regions of Morena, Reggio, Ferrara and Bologna were reunited and formed in 1796 the Cispadan (located on this side of the Po River) republic, whose state flag was a tricolor tricolor with already vertical stripes. A little later, it included the kingdom of Emilia-Romagna. In the same year the Bologna Senate approved the banner officially.

The first appearance of the final version

Even then, at the end of the 18th century, the banner of this small republic looked exactly the same as the flag of Italy now, in our days. Time passed, and the enlargement of the small principalities by their merger continued. In 1797, the Cisalpine Republic was formed, which included states located on both sides of the Po-Tsispadenskoye and Trans-Padenskoye rivers. Stig remained the same. In 1802, the newly formed country was renamed the Italian Republic, in 1805 - in the Italian kingdom, which added to Napoleon the title of monarch. This continued until the fall of the empire of Bonaparte.

The Italian flag was revived in the glorious era of Risorgimento (literally "revival") - the era of the liberation of the country from the Austrian occupation (this time is dedicated to the novel by Ethel Lilian Voynich "The Gadfly") and further unification. However, on the white part of the cloth appeared the coat of arms of the Savoy dynasty, because Italy, thanks to the actions of the liberal party Risorgimento, again became a monarchical state. Giuseppe Garibaldi, who did so much to liberate the country, belonged to the democratic wing, which fought for Italy to remain a republic. Officially the coat of arms of the Savoy dynasty was abolished only in 1946. And in the time of Mussolini on the national flag there was another symbolism - on the white field was depicted a fastia (or fascio, where the name of fascism came from).

Modern history of the flag

What does the flag of Italy look like now? Since 1946, he has not changed. In 2005, laws were passed to prevent abuse of the flag with a fine for violations from 1,000 to 1,500 euros, and for committing this action in a public place - up to 10,000 in the same currency. Italians with their inherent temperament love everything that is connected with their homeland. The colors of the flag of Italy are present everywhere - from the decorations of culinary dishes to the design of interiors, furniture and clothing. The banner itself adorns many balconies for no reason, not on holidays.

In the world there are several state banners, very similar to the Italian state cloth. According to the colors, these are the banners of Bulgaria, Hungary, India, Mexico and Ireland. The last two are also similar in the direction of the bands - they are vertical. Most of all the flag of Italy, the photo of which could be seen in the article, is reminiscent of Irish, the difference is only in the shades of red.