FLAG OF ITALY

It originated in a banner with the same colors given by Napoleon in November 1796 to a body of Lombard Legion volunteers who joined the French army.

On January 7, 1797 , the standard tricolor was adopted as the emblem of the Republic Cispadana held in Reggio Emilia . It comprised an area of ​​about 40,000 km ² crossed by the river Po and Milan as the seat of government. I was provided with an army composed of French troops.The Cisalpine Republic created on July 9, 1797 by Napoleon Bonaparte used the current arrangement tricolor stripes .There is a theory about the origin of the three colors that binds with the insignia of a secret society that developed a significant influence on the politics of the time. Representatives of Reggio Emilia as proposed adopting the tricolor flag of the new state that was created free at that time. In Reggio Assembly set to join Milan Reggio Emilia four cities that were under Napoleonic rule , but as it was possible, it was decided to establish at least one flag . This was the origin of the Italian flag . With the fall of Napoleon in 1814 , was abolished by restoration , but returned to be used during the five days of Milan .Shortly afterwards he was hoisted on the towers of Milan and the highest point in the city. The March 24, 1848 , the Austrians had to leave Milan who had been under his dominion . The King of Piedmont - Sardinia, Charles Albert of Savoy , the tricolor distributed among different Piedmontese army units entered the Lombardy in support of the insurgents and arranged in the center of it is incorporated shield the house Savoy. From this episode the tricolor flag has been the symbol of the Italian nation .In 1849 in Rome , the Roman Republic was established and Giuseppe Mazzini adopted as the tricolor flag , writing on the white stripe initials of the Roman Republic . But officially , with the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy on 17 March 1861 adopted the version created by Charles Albert of Savoy , the Savoy shield surmounted by a royal crown on the state flag . This model remained in place eighty years until the fall of the monarchy on June 2, 1946 , and since that time the national flag is made without any logo or shield.The nineteenth -century poet , Francesco Dall'Ongaro , explained the symbolism of the colors of the flag using a description of the Italian territory . " White as the Alps , red like volcanoes and green as the plains of Lombardy " .