Europe · IT / ITA
Flag of Italy
The Italian flag, known as il Tricolore, has three equal vertical bands of green, white and red, with green at the hoist. It dates back to 1797 and has been the flag of the Italian Republic since 1946.
What the flag of Italy looks like
The flag of Italy is a plain vertical tricolor. Three bands of equal width run from the hoist to the fly: green, white and red, in that order. The proportions are 2:3, and there is no emblem, badge or border of any kind. The Constitution describes it in a single line: the flag of the Republic is the Italian tricolor, with green, white and red in three vertical bands of equal size.
Because the design is so simple, it is often confused with other flags. Mexico uses the same colors but adds its coat of arms to the white band and has darker green. Ireland's flag replaces red with orange, and Hungary's flag is horizontal red, white and green. Ivory Coast's flag looks like Ireland's in reverse, with orange at the hoist and green at the fly.
Italy flag colors
Color codes measured from the official design. Use HEX for the web and CMYK for print.
HEX
#FFFFFFRGB
255, 255, 255CMYK
0, 0, 0, 0HEX
#009246RGB
0, 146, 70CMYK
100, 0, 52, 43HEX
#CE2B37RGB
206, 43, 55CMYK
0, 79, 73, 19Italian flag colors and meaning
There is no official meaning for the Italian colors, but several explanations are repeated. One popular reading says that green stands for the meadows and hills, white for the snow of the Alps and red for the blood spilled in the wars of Italian independence, although historians say it has no historical basis. Another attributes them to the three theological virtues, with green for hope, white for faith and red for charity; during the Napoleonic period the colors came to be read as hope, faith and love.
The more historical explanation is practical. The first green, white and red military banner was given to the Lombard Legion, formed in Milan under Napoleon, in 1796. The colors had earlier been used by the Milanese National Guard and on cockades, and the flag followed the model of the French tricolor. The color scheme was a political statement before it had a settled meaning: it stood for the revolutionary idea of a united, free Italy.
History of the Italian flag
The first Italian tricolor was adopted on 7 January 1797 in Reggio Emilia by the Cispadane Republic, a short-lived state created under French protection. The day is now celebrated as Tricolore Day. In the following years it was flown by other Napoleonic republics in northern Italy and by the Kingdom of Italy (1805-14).
After the fall of Napoleon the tricolor was banned in many of the restored states and became a symbol of the movement for unification, the Risorgimento. It was carried in the revolts of 1820-21, 1831 and 1848. In March 1848 King Charles Albert of Sardinia put the tricolor, with the royal arms of the House of Savoy, at the head of his army in the first war against Austria. When the Kingdom of Italy was proclaimed in 1861 the flag, now with the white cross of Savoy on a red shield in the middle, became the national flag.
That is the answer to a question many people ask about the old Italian flag: until 1946 it carried the Savoy coat of arms in the white band, topped by a crown on the state version. After the referendum of 2 June 1946 abolished the monarchy, the arms were dropped, and the plain tricolor became the flag of the Republic in June 1946. The 1948 Constitution confirmed it in Article 12.
How the Italian flag is used
The tricolor flies over public buildings and at military ceremonies, and Italians celebrate it on Tricolore Day, 7 January. Italy's national football team plays in blue, not in the flag's colors, a tradition inherited from the House of Savoy.
To see the flag as an emoji, visit the Italy flag emoji page.
Italy flag facts
| Country | Italy |
|---|---|
| Flag adopted | June 19, 1946 |
| Proportions | 2:3 |
| Colors | #FFFFFF, #009246, #CE2B37 |
| Flag emoji | 🇮🇹 |
| Country code | IT, ITA (ISO 3166) |
| Capital | Rome |
| Continent | Europe |
| Population | 58,850,717 |
| Area | 302,068 km² |
| National anthem | Il Canto degli Italiani |
Italy flag: frequently asked questions
What do the Italian flag colors mean?
There is no official meaning. A popular reading is green for the plains, white for Alpine snow and red for blood shed in battle, or alternatively hope, faith and charity. The colors followed the French tricolor and appeared first on cockades in 1789, and the Lombard Legion adopted a green, white and red banner in 1796.
What did the old Italian flag look like?
From 1861 to 1946 the flag was the same tricolor with the royal coat of arms of the House of Savoy, a shield with a white cross on red (crowned on the state flag), in the center of the white band.
Which flag looks like Italy's but is horizontal?
Hungary's flag has red, white and green horizontal stripes, which is the closest horizontal match in colors, though Hungary's order is reversed.
What was Italy called before 1946?
It was the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed on 17 March 1861 under the House of Savoy. Its flag was the green, white and red tricolor with the Savoy coat of arms in the center. After the monarchy ended in 1946, Italy became a republic and the arms were removed from the flag by a decree of 19 June 1946.
What is an interesting fact about the Italian flag?
The first Italian tricolor adopted by a sovereign Italian state dates to 7 January 1797, and that day is now Tricolore Day. The pizza Margherita, made in 1889 for Queen Margherita of Savoy, is also said to recall the flag, with basil for green, mozzarella for white and tomato for red.
What is the difference between the Irish and Italian flag?
Both are vertical with green at the hoist, but Ireland's has orange instead of red, and its shape is longer at 1:2 against Italy's 2:3. The Irish colors are read as Catholics (green) and Protestants (orange), while the Italian flag has no official color meaning. See the flag of Ireland.
What is the flag that looks like Italy's but isn't?
The closest matches are Mexico's and Ireland's. Mexico uses the same colors with a coat of arms, darker shades and a 4:7 ratio, while Ireland swaps red for orange. In the italian flag vs mexican flag comparison, the emblem is the quickest way to tell them apart.
