Italian regions

Last modified: 1997-09-03 by alessio bragadini
Keywords: italy | lombardia | milano | cross | rosa camuna | lega nord | sicilia | trinacria | toscana | piemonte | lambel | sardegna | moor |
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• Use of gonfalons and local flags
• Valle d'Aosta / Vallée d'Aoste
• Piedmont
• Liguria
• Lombardia
• Veneto
• Trentino-Alto Adige / Süd Tirol
• Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Trieste
• Romagna
• Tuscany
• Umbria
• Lazio
• Campania
• Basilicata
• Sicily
• Sardinia

See also:

• Italy
• Italian historical flags
• Padania

As far as I know, several flags of Italian regions,provinces and towns are vertically hanged flags. In fact, they are not flags as we know them, but gonfanons, that is to say that they are hanged vertically, falling from a metal horizontal bar, and often being swallow-tailed. Those "flags" have the proportions 1:2.
pascal vagnat 7-MAR-1996

All the Italian towns have one gonfalon, that is there is one gonfalon which is the official emblem of the town. Its usage is ruled by law. For instance in the town I live the town's Statute says the gonfalon can be used only if the Mayor is present. Usually gonfalons show the coat-of-arms of the town, so they are not true flags.
giuseppe bottasini 7-MAR-1996

Despite a great middle age flag tradition, italian towns show a kind of adversion toward flags. Not many of them have a flag adopted by law and usually people don't know about their existence. Many of the flags adopted are simple plain field with the arms in the center (and usually the field is blue), so they seems all the same. Flag exposition is usually limited to municipal building during the reunions of the civic government.

Concerning Italian regional flags, they are known because recently the President Scalfaro asked to all the Regions and autonomous Province to send their flags to be exposed during a conference. Because only about half of the Region had their own flag, the occasion forced many Regions to adopt a flag. Most of them created the flag taking the design from their gonfannon, while Piemonte created a new brand one (but of old and known pattern; while the gonfannon carries the repubblican colours red-blue-orange, and is few known and even less apreciated). In two cases, Sicily and Puglie, the exposed flags don't correspond to the official ones adopted some years ago: in the first case the shield of the arms have been placed in the middle, substituting the "triquetra"; while in the second the blue and white border has been removed placing two narrow band (green toward the hoist, and red toward the fly) on the white field. Corresponding this to the gonfannon it seems that who sent the flag maybe was unaware that the Region already has adopted one (precisely on 8/9/1988).

If Lega Nord leader Bossi has some merit, one is to have resumed the use of local flags in Italy. I think that without the great efforce toward federalism rised by Lega Nord we will never have regional flags (apart for particular cases as Friuli-Venezia Giulia and Valle d'Aosta).

All the Italian regional and autonomous province flags appear on Vexilla Italica number 1, volume XXIII (1996); information on how to get it can be find through CISV.
mario fabretto, 20-SEP-1996

The flag and arms of CAMPANIA were adopted on the 21/07/1971 (B. Uff. Reg. 24/07/71). The arms are silver a bend gules. The flag is azure (sea) with the arms in the middle and under them the words "REGIONE CAMPANIA" in gold. The flag is always near the Italian flag.
pascal vagnat 20-DEC-1995

There is a flag and some arms for FRIULI-VENEZIA GIULIA adopted 08/12/1967 but there wasn't any text concerning it in my book so I think you have to look in the Bulletin Ufficiale of the Region on the date 08/02/1968 to have more informations. There is a decreet concerning the use of the arms and the flag dated 26/01/1970.
pascal vagnat 20-DEC-1995

A blue flag with a golden eagle is the old flag of Pathriarcate of Aquileia (circa 1000-1420) and a flag for Friuli. It is also possible to see a blue flag with the golden eagle and, near the hoist, vertically placed, the word Friul in yellow (terrible!)
mario fabretto, 20-SEP-1996

Trieste

Trieste isn't a region but a town, the capital of the region Friuli-Venezia Giulia, and also a province in this region. The flag of Trieste as well as the flag of the former Free Territory of Trieste, are plain red with the top of a lance in white.The proportions I found are 7:10, but there could be other.

The gonfanon of the region is plain blue with the arms in the center. The arms depict a gold eagle nearly flying on a brick fortress argent. This could be also a flag.
pascal vagnat

A flag for Romagna is proposed: in two quarters there is the red cross on white field, while in the other two quartes there is a yellow cross (green frimbiated) on a red field and 4 yellow green-frimbiated "C" (something like the Serbian flag). It has clearly Bizantine roots.
mario fabretto, 20-SEP-1996

The Flag and arms of LAZIO were adopted on the 17/09/1984 (B Uff Reg 29/09/1984) and changed on the 08/01/1986 (B Uff Reg 30/01/1986). There isn't any description.
pascal vagnat 20-DEC-1995

The flag and arms of LIGURIA were adopted on the 15/01/1985 (B Uff Reg 16/01/1985). There isn't any description.
pascal vagnat 20-DEC-1995

Liguria regional flag is a vertical tricolour green-red-blue with the arms (a vessel) in the center. Sometimes the arms stay on the red stripe only and below them appear the words Regione Liguria. Lega Nord propose the flag for Liguria to be white, with the red cross (the old Genova flag), with S. George killing the dragon in the canton.
mario fabretto, 20-SEP-1996

The flag and arms of LOMBARDIA were adopted on the 12/06/1975 (B. Uff. Reg. 12/06/1975). The arms depict a silver curvilined cross on green. The flag is green with the "Carroccio" (a historical cart) and the arms of the region. The proportions are 2:3.
pascal vagnat 20-DEC-1995

The flag usually shown is green with a white device called "Rosa camuna", a kind of cross which should represent a prehistoric drawing made by Camuni, a people who lived in the Lombard Camuna Valley.
The white flag with red cross is the flag of Milano, the major city of Lombardia. It is also useb by Lega Nord as its own flag, but in this case there is a blue warrior over the cross.
giuseppe bottasini 22-NOV-1995

A collection of stamps issued by Lega Nord shows for Lombardia a flag with a red cross on a white field having the typical blue Visconti snake.
mario fabretto, 20-SEP-1996

The flag and arms of PIEMONTE were adopted on the 16/01/1984 (B Uff Reg 25/01/1984). The arms are gules a cross argent a lambel three feet azure. The flag is red on blue on orange (these colours are the colours of the Republic of Alba which was proclamated on the 25th of April 1796), on the middle appear the arms of the region (arms of Piedmont since 1424).
pascal vagnat 20-DEC-1995

Piemonte has the particularity to have a gonfanon and a flag which are different. The gonfanon is red-blue-orange with the arms of the region in the middle. This was adopted in the middle of the 1980's. After many harsh debates, the old historical flag of Piedmont (banner of the arms described above) was adopted.(I don t know when exactly, but ca. 1994 or 1995). This flag has the proportions 2:3.
pascal vagnat

The "flag" for piemonte is really the arms of the prince of piemonte, traditional title of the eldest son of the king of sardinia: it shows the arms of savoy differenced by a label azure.
françois velde 12-APR-1996

The official Piemonte's regional flag have been adopted circa 26 october 1995 and also has a thin white (inner) and blue (outher) borders on all sides.
mario fabretto, 20-SEP-1996

The autonomous Region of Sardinia adopted a flag and some arms. The law concerning the emblems are mentionned since the 5th of July 1952 in the paragraph 12 of the status of the region. The arms are silver with a red cross and four black heads of Maures in each canton. The flag is white with the arms in the middle with the inscription "Regione autonoma della Sardegna" in gold.
pascal vagnat 20-DEC-1995

the flag of sardinia is the traditional arms of sardinia, based on the genoese red cross. Note that nearby corsica also has a moor's head in its arms.
françois velde 12-APR-1996

Sicily has an official symbol, the Trinacria, something like the device of Isle of Man.
giuseppe bottasini 22-NOV-1995

The Sicilia gonfanon is divided per bend red and yellow. In the middle appears the Trinacria proper.
pascal vagnat

The flag of TOSCANA was adopted on the 20/05/1975 (B. Uff. Reg. 21/05/1975). It is white with two narrow red stripes, one at the top, the other at the bottom of the flag.On the middle appears the Pegasus ("Pegaso") turned towards the bottom (like if the Pegasus was a bend) with natural colours. This Pegasus is the symbol of the Toscan National Liberation Comity ("Comitato toscano di liberazione nazionale"). I didn't find the arms: the text says that a coming law will determinate the caracteristics of the arms.
pascal vagnat 20-DEC-1995

"The status of autonomy (of the region) says in its article 1 that the region has a flag and some arms, which must be approved by decret by the president of the State.The new status of autonomy of the 20th of January 1972 says in its article 3 that the region, the province of Trente, the province of Bozen have all a flag and some arms which must be approved by decret by the president of the State.On the 2nd of April 1980, the government of South Tyrol named a commission to work on propositions for the flag and arms of the province (Dr. Silvius Magnago, Dr. Anton Zelger, Dr. Remo Ferretti, Dr. Karl Wolfsgruber, Dr. Norbert Mumelter and Ladislao Laszloczky). On the 6th of January 1981, the commission started to work on the propositions (specially on the white-red flag of Tyrol and the Tyrolean eagle which is shown in the chapel of the castle of Tyrol (town)).On the 2th of July 1982, the commission chose as arms the Tyrolean eagle "naked" (that is to say with no rue garland, and nothing on the wings) and the white-red Tyrolean flag. The president of the State, Sandro Pertini, approved the arms and the flag in March 1983. The Arms of South Tyrol appear in the arms of the region and are registered in the heraldic register of Italy."

Here I must say that the adoption of the arms and of the flag was not so easy because the Italian government didn't want that the province had the arms of a foreign region. The arms are a compromise, they differ little from the austrian-tyrolean ones. The flag was accepted by the State with less difficulties.

I wonder how the arms of the province of Trent and of the region are as well as the flags. My hypothesis is that the arms of the Province are more or less the same as the arms of the city of Trent. We know that the arms of the region contains the arms of South Tyrol, the other part could be the Trent Eagle.
pascal vagnat

The official Alto-Adige/Südtyrol flag has the shield of the arms on it so it is different from Austrian Tyrol flag, but I saw also flown the latter. An important flag used in Alto-Adige is the flag of ladin people: horizontal blue-white-green. Sometimes it can be seen with local civic arms on it.
mario fabretto, 20-SEP-1996

A traditional flag is red and black
alessio bragadini 25-NOV-1995

The region Valle d'Aosta has some arms: white lion on black but I didn't find the official text. I don't know any flag BUT it is interesting to know that after WW II the Council of the Valley made in March 1947 a project of status of autonomy for the Valle d'Aosta.The article 3 said that the flag of the region was red and black vertically. This project was given in May 1947 to De Gasperi and to the president of the Constituente Umberto Terracini. But Rome was afraid of this project because it was too autonomistic for them. It represented a second form of the (very) autonomistic status of Sicily of May 1946.

The reading article by article of the status of the region made by commissioneers in Rome created many reactions in the Assembly (Rome). There was a quarrel about the first article of the status. The majority of the commissioneers refused to insert in this article as an alinea the article 3 of the project of the Council of the Valley concerning the official recognization of the Valle d'Aosta flag, this flag being considered as a separatist flag by Rome.

I don't think this flag is nowadays the official flag of the Valley but I lack of official texts.
pascal vagnat 20-DEC-1995

The flag and arms of VENETO were adopted on the 20/05/1975 (B. Uff. Reg. 24/05/1975). Here the same thing as for Frioul: no text! Curiously there isn't an article concerning the possible adoption of emblems in the status of the region.
pascal vagnat 20-DEC-1995

Veneto looks like the flag of Venice. It is all red with lots of ornament in yellow and blue. There is the emblem of the region on it: it shows the Saint Mark Lion with the book opened with the words "pax tibi marce evangelista meus" (peace to you, Mark, my evangile) on a green ground, near a blue sea, and mountains. On a blue sky are written the words: "Regione del Veneto". The right side of the flag is cut in seven tongues, with on each of them the arms of the capital of each province of the region.

This region has at the same time a flag and a gonfanon.In each of them, the lion is still horizontal, that is to say that there is a rotation of the emblem of 90 degrees, when the flag is displayed vertically.

The flag of Venice (capital of Veneto) is red with yellow ornament, and near the hoist a red field with the lion in red and the book open. The proportions of the flags are 1:2 (or more?).
pascal vagnat

The civic flag of Venice is the italian tricolour with a red square placed on the upper half of the green stripe and with the golden lion of S. Mark on it. This flag was confirmed and slightly modified on 1st May 1942. Naturally everybody knows the civic gonfannon rather than this owful flag. The Venezia province and the Veneto region have also flags that look like the gonfannon, increasing the historical confusion about venetian flags.
mario fabretto, 20-SEP-1996

The gonfanon of Basilicata is blue with the arms in the middle (argent a wavy fess azure).
pascal vagnat

The gonfanon of Umbria is green with a white rectangle containing three fleurs de lys (?) in red.
pascal vagnat

The gonfanon of Puglia is white with an inner border blue. In the middle appear the arms (or a palm tree sable in a octogone or bordered sable, a chief or three besants or bordered sable - very strange arms).
pascal vagnat