Flag of Italy

Flag of Italy

Flag of Italy

Between 1796 and 1814, the collection of city-states, dukedoms and monarchies that constituted Italy at that time were briefly united under French rule and introduced to the principles of the French Revolution. After Napoleon's fall, however, Italy was once again divided (between Austria, the papacy and the kingdoms of Sardinia and Naples, as well as four smaller duchies). Despite the country's partition, nationalist ideals remained alive in Italy, the Risorgimento ('Resurgence') movement gathering pace from 1830 to culminate in the campaigns of Count Cavour and Giuseppe Garibaldi and finally, in 1861, in a united kingdom of Italy (following a referendum, in 1946 the monarchy was abolished and Italy became a republic).

The Italian tricolor is derived from the standard used by Napoleon during his Italian campaign of 1796, the design being based on the French Tricolore and the green and white colors echoing the uniform of the Civic Militia of Milan. (Red was added when it became the National Guard in 1796, green, white and red subsequently becoming the national colors of Italy.) The colors in the flag of Italy with the first tricolor were displayed horizontally from 1796 to 1798, when their disposition was changed to the current, vertical arrangement. In 1861, the year of the kingdom of Italy's birth, the tricolor carried the arms of the House of Savoy, of which the new king, Victor Emmanuel I, was a scion. These were removed when a republic was proclaimed in 1946, however, thereby creating the current flag of Italy.