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IT ITA

A national flag · vexillological catalog

Flag of Italy.

The flag of Italy — known affectionately as il Tricolore — is a vertical tricolour of green, white and red, modelled on the French tricolore but with the blue replaced by green. First adopted on 7 January 1797 by the short-lived Cispadane Republic in northern Italy, it became the symbol of the Italian unification movement (the Risorgimento) throughout the 19th century, was the flag of the Kingdom of Italy from 1861 to 1946 (with the addition of the House of Savoy's coat of arms), and was confirmed as the flag of the modern Italian Republic by Article 12 of the post-war Constitution in 1948. The colours are sometimes given a religious gloss — green for hope, white for faith, red for charity, the three theological virtues — and sometimes a geographical one: green for the country's plains and hills, white for its Alpine snows, red for the blood spilt in the wars of independence. The flag's modern proportions and exact shades were specified by law in 2006, after debate over how strictly the historical colours had been preserved.

Proportion

2:3

Adopted

1946

Designer

Adopted by the Cispadane Republic in 1797 — design inspired by the French tricolore

Italy

01 · Symbolism

Green represents hills and plains; white the Alps' snow; red the blood spilled in the wars of independence.

02 · Colour meanings

What each colour represents.

A breakdown of the symbolism behind each colour on the flag of Italy.

Fern Green

#009246

Symbolises the country's landscape — its plains, hills and forests — and the theological virtue of hope. Also tied to the green of the Lombard Legion uniforms in 1796.

White

#FFFFFF

Represents the snow of the Alps and the theological virtue of faith. Also drawn from the Bourbon white of the Italian principalities of the late 18th century.

Flame Red

#CE2B37

Symbolises the blood shed in the wars of Italian unification and the theological virtue of charity. Also drawn from the red worn by the same Lombard volunteers.

04 · Fun facts

Things to remember.

01
The flag dates from 1797, almost 65 years before Italy itself existed as a unified state — making the tricolore older than the country it represents.
02
The first official tricolour was adopted by the Cispadane Republic in Reggio Emilia on 7 January 1797 — a date now commemorated as National Tricolour Day (Festa del Tricolore).
03
Between 1861 and 1946, the flag included the coat of arms of the House of Savoy in the centre. This was removed in 1946 when Italy abolished the monarchy and became a republic.
04
The Italian and Mexican flags are very similar — both vertical green-white-red tricolours — but Mexico's features the national coat of arms (an eagle on a cactus eating a snake) in the centre, while Italy's plain tricolour does not.
05
The exact shades of green, white and red were standardised by an official decree in 2006, after concerns that different government bodies were using slightly different colours.

05 · History

How it came to be.

The Italian tricolour was first hoisted on 7 January 1797 in Reggio Emilia, when the Cispadane Republic — a Napoleonic puppet state in northern Italy — adopted it as its banner. The design spread through the Italian states during the 19th-century Risorgimento and was adopted by the Kingdom of Sardinia in 1848, then by the unified Kingdom of Italy in 1861 (with the Savoy coat of arms added). When Italy voted to abolish the monarchy after the Second World War, the coat of arms was removed and the plain tricolour became the flag of the new republic, formally established by Article 12 of the 1948 Constitution.

03 · About

On the design.

Il Tricolore was inspired by the French Revolutionary tricolour and first used by Napoleon's Cisalpine Republic in 1797. The current design was officially adopted on 19 June 1946.

The design

The Flag of Italy is a national emblem rendered in the colours and proportions defined by the country’s flag law. Its official aspect ratio is 2:3, the height-to-length ratio that fixes how the flag should be cut and flown. The colour scheme uses Green, White, Red, with each shade specified to particular Pantone or RGB values for official reproduction.

Colour palette

Colour	Name	Common symbolism
Green	Green	Tends to evoke land, agriculture, hope, Islam or the natural environment.
White	White	Commonly represents peace, purity, honesty or snow-capped landscapes.
Red	Red	Often signifies courage, sacrifice, revolution or the blood of those who fought for the nation.
Source	Official flag law	The country’s own statute or constitutional appendix specifies exact shades and proportions.

Symbolism & heraldry

Green represents hills and plains; white the Alps' snow; red the blood spilled in the wars of independence.

Heraldic elements on the Flag of Italy — bands, charges, emblems or stars — each carry meaning agreed at the moment of the flag’s adoption. Re-readings happen across generations: a colour or a symbol that began with one meaning often picks up further layers as the country’s history unfolds.

Adoption & history

The current flag was adopted in 1946. Earlier banners flown by Italy reflected the politics of their day; each redesign typically marked a moment of independence, regime change or constitutional reform. The current flag was chosen, debated and codified through the country’s official channels and is now protected by flag law.

Etiquette & protocol

The Flag of Italy should be flown with respect: never allowed to touch the ground, never used as drapery for ceremonies it was not made for, and lowered or removed at sundown unless illuminated. When flown alongside other national flags, it takes precedence on home soil and is hoisted first and lowered last. On days of national mourning, the flag is flown at half-mast in line with directives from the head of state. These conventions are common to most nations and are usually written into the flag’s founding statute.

Specifications

Field	Value	Note
Country	Italy	—
Continent	Europe	—
ISO alpha-2	IT	2-letter code
ISO alpha-3	ITA	3-letter code
Adopted	1946	year of current design
Proportion	2:3	height : length
Colours	Green, White, Red	—
Designer		—
Emoji	🇮🇹	Unicode codepoint sequence

Did you know?

Italy's Tricolour Day (Festa del Tricolore) is celebrated on 7 January, marking the original adoption in 1797.

Frequently asked questions

What do the colours of the Italian flag mean?

The colours have several traditional readings. Geographically: green for Italy's plains and hills, white for the Alpine snows, red for the blood of independence wars. Religiously: green, white and red as the three theological virtues — hope, faith and charity. Historically, they were also drawn from the green and red of the Lombard Legion uniforms with white from the Bourbon arms.

When was the Italian flag adopted?

The Italian tricolour was first adopted on 7 January 1797 by the Cispadane Republic. It was used in various forms throughout the 19th century, became the flag of the unified Kingdom of Italy in 1861 (with the Savoy arms), and was confirmed as the flag of the Italian Republic by the 1948 Constitution.

Why is the Italian flag similar to the French flag?

The Italian tricolour was directly inspired by the French tricolore, which had become the symbol of revolutionary republican government across Europe in the late 18th century. The Cispadane Republic — a Napoleonic state established in 1796–1797 in northern Italy — adopted the tricolour pattern but replaced French blue with green, possibly because green was the colour of the Milanese civic militia.

What is the difference between the flags of Italy and Mexico?

Both are vertical green-white-red tricolours, but Mexico's flag features the Mexican coat of arms (an eagle perched on a cactus, holding a serpent in its beak) in the centre of the white band. Italy's flag is a plain tricolour with no central emblem. The shades of red and green also differ slightly — Mexico's green is darker and the red is more crimson.

Which country does the Flag of Italy represent?

The Flag of Italy is the national flag of Italy.

When was the Flag of Italy adopted?

The Flag of Italy was adopted in 1946 — about 80 years old.

What is the proportion of the Flag of Italy?

The Flag of Italy has an official proportion (height-to-width ratio) of 2:3.

Who designed the Flag of Italy?

The Flag of Italy was designed by Adopted by the Cispadane Republic in 1797 — design inspired by the French tricolore.

04 · Country at a glance

Italy — in brief.

Quick reference data on Italy, the country this flag represents.

Capital: Rome
Continent: Europe
Sub-region: Southern Europe
Population: 59M
Area: 301,340 km²
Languages: Italian
Currency: Euro (EUR)
Government: Parliamentary republic
Flag age: about 80 years old

Dispatch 14 · MAY · 26

A small thing, worth noting.

Italy's Tricolour Day (Festa del Tricolore) is celebrated on 7 January, marking the original adoption in 1797.

— filed from the catalog

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