Unofficial symbols of Italy. Coat of arms of Italy

The flag of Italy consists of three vertical stripes: green, white and red. There are several versions of why these particular colors were chosen. The official version says that green symbolizes faith, white – hope, and red – love. The colors of the flag were approved by Napoleon. Initially, the stripes were located horizontally.

The coat of arms of Italy features a white five-pointed star with red edges on top of a five-spoke cogwheel. The composition is framed by an olive branch on the left and an oak branch on the right. The branches are tied with a red ribbon, on which “Italian Republic” (Italian: REPUBBLICA ITALIANA) is written in capital white letters.

The five-pointed star means defense of the country. This symbol has been used since the end of the 18th century. The gear wheel refers to the first article of the constitution: “Italy is a republic founded on labor.” The olive branch symbolizes the internal and external essence of the country, its peacefulness and loyalty. The oak branch signifies the strength and dignity of the Italians. In addition, both branches, being typical representatives of the flora of Italy, symbolize its nature.

The coat of arms of Italy appeared on May 5, 1948. It was announced by the President of Italy Enrico de Nicola.

National anthem of Italy

The anthem of Italy is the "Song of the Italians" (Italian: Il Canto degli Italiani, also known as "The Brothers of Italy" (Italian: Fratelli d'Italia). It was composed by Goffredo Mameli in 1847. The music was composed by Michele Novaro. It became the national anthem used, but unofficially, since late 1946. Until now, the Senate of the Italian Republic has not made a corresponding amendment to the Constitution, and the “Song of the Italians” still remains the temporary anthem of the country.

The Italian Republic is a unique country, being at the same time one of the most ancient powers and a fairly young state. The fragmented duchies of Italy were finally united in the 19th century. Today it is one of the major powers, a member country (G8). The flag and coat of arms of Italy are integral elements of state symbols. Each of them has its own history and meaning.

Italian tricolor: two versions of birth

The history of the country's flag is quite interesting. The colors of the state symbol of Italy were established in his time by Napoleon. But at first the stripes were horizontal, not vertical, as they are now. The flag acquired its usual appearance only in 1798, and in 1805, when the country acquired the status of a kingdom, the green stripe was decorated with the image of a golden Napoleonic eagle. Only after the Second World War, in 1946, did he disappear from the public sphere. The coat of arms of Italy also underwent changes and got rid of the image of a bird that was present on it.

According to one version, the colors of the flag were taken from the colors of the Milanese police uniform. At first it was white and green, and since 1976, after the police were renamed in Italy, red was added to the tones of the uniform.

There is another unofficial, but rather unusual story of the appearance of the Italian flag. Once upon a time, during revolutionary unrest, protesters needed a symbol of the nation. This was not available, and it was necessary to urgently solve this problem. Then one of the participants in the rallies ran home, found three multi-colored rags and hastily sewed them together. The resulting cloth later became the Italian flag.

Flag of Italy today

The modern attribute of state symbols has three vertical stripes. The official version of the interpretation of this particular color combination is as follows: green denotes faith, white is a symbol of hope, and the red stripe represents love. Today's state emblem of Italy is also made in these same colors.

In 2005, the Italian parliament passed a law that provides for punishment for damaging the national flag and desecration of it in the form of a fine, the amount of which varies from 1000 to 1500 euros. Today, in case of desecration of a state symbol in public places, the offender will be forced to pay 10,000 euros.

History of the coat of arms: how a Roman professor wrote himself into history

The coat of arms of Italy, as it exists today, was approved by official decree two years later than the Italian flag, in 1948.

This event was preceded by a very strict competitive selection that lasted for two years. About a thousand works in black and white were presented to a specially created commission. A prerequisite for considering the sketch of the coat of arms was an image that symbolized the land and municipalities that make up Italy.

The competition was won by Paolo Paschetto, who at that time was a professor at the Institute of Higher Arts in Rome. He was paid a bonus and given the opportunity to create the final version of the coat of arms.

By coincidence, not everyone liked the winning sketch, which became the reason for an additional competition stage. However, fortune was clearly on the side of the lucky and talented professor, because he managed to win the second time. The work he did underwent slight adjustments and acquired color. In this form, the coat of arms of Italy exists to this day.

What's in your symbol, Italy?

As mentioned above, the colors of the Italian coat of arms echo those used in the national flag. This is a combination of white, green and red. Each coat of arms has a hidden meaning. Each country has its own. The coat of arms of Italy is no exception to this rule. What does each of its elements mean and what hidden message does it convey?

The star has been a symbol of the country since time immemorial and was also present on the coat of arms. It is believed that it illuminates the entire state and its lands with its radiance and leads all those who suffer to its shores, so that travelers do not go astray.

The gear depicted on the coat of arms represents the hard work of the Italian people. According to another version, this wheel with teeth symbolizes the battlements and towers of Ancient Rome.

The olive branch located to the left of the star signifies the friendliness of the Italians and their desire for peace with other nations. Interestingly, the olive is a very common tree in the country, one of the longest-living and perhaps the main source of food for many Italians. The best olive oil in the world is made from the fruits; olives are present in many national dishes and are constantly present on the table of almost every resident of Italy.

The branch of another tree, an oak, framing the star on the right is a symbol of the dignity and strength of the Italian nation.

When an ordinary person reads the description of the coat of arms of Italy without any explanation, it seems a little strange to him. Nevertheless, every element has meaning, and they are all connected with the distant past of this country.

The national flag of Italy, il Tricolore, as the Italians themselves lovingly call it, is one of the main symbols of the state, along with the anthem. The tricolor with vertical stripes of green, white and red appeared much earlier than the state itself.

The history of the creation of the Italian il Tricolore begins at the end of the 17th century. Two students - Luigi Zamboni and Giovanni Battista De Rolandis - fought for the independence of Bologna, at that time under the rule of the Holy See.

In the fall of 1794 they rebelled. According to some reports, Napoleon Bonaparte was behind the unrest, preparing an invasion of the Apennines.

As a distinctive sign, the rebels used green-white-red cockades, similar to the sign of revolutionary France. The blue color on them was replaced by green, representing hope. But the hopes of the rebels were not destined to come true then. The uprising was suppressed by the papal guards, and for the instigators the story ended sadly. Luigi Zamboni hanged himself in his cell, unable to withstand the brutal torture, and Giovanni Battista De Rolandis was publicly executed.

The memory of the martyrs of the revolution was immortalized by Napoleon. One of the first decrees in occupied Bologna, he ordered the reburying of the organizers of the riot on Mount Mantagnola. Napoleon completed the work of the revolutionaries: he abolished the power of the Holy See and recognized the free Cispadane Republic as a vassal of Bonapartist France. The banner of the student uprising became the official symbol of the new state. It had horizontal stripes and a coat of arms in the center. This is where the legs of the popular myth “grow” that the flag of Italy was invented personally by Bonaparte.

Royal Standard

In 1797, Napoleon united the Cispadane and Transpadane republics into the Cisalpine Republic, and the standard acquired its familiar appearance with vertical stripes of the same colors. The flag of France was taken as a basis.

Five years later, the Cisalpine Republic (Repubblica Cisalpina, 1797-1802) became the Italian Republic (Repubblica Italiana, 1802-1805), and its banner underwent major changes. The coloring remained unchanged, but the stripes were replaced by squares: against a scarlet background, a white rhombus with a green square inside.

In 1804, the vector of the country's development changed: Napoleon turned the republic into a kingdom. The changes were reflected in heraldry - the imperial eagle appeared on the state standard.

Another ten years passed, Napoleon was defeated, and the history of his empire ended. Italy again lost its unity, and with it the royal banner.

National symbol

Despite fragmentation, the green-white-red banner remained a sign of the national unification of the Risorgimento (il risorgimento - revival, renewal). Echoes of the Napoleonic banner and its colors continued to live in the heraldry of the Italian lands.

The Sardinian version of the tricolor - the blue-red coat of arms of Sardinia and a crown against a background of green, white and red stripes - became the state color for the entire Kingdom of Italy (1861-1946) precisely because the leader of the liberation movement against the Austrian occupation (Giuseppe Garibaldi) was from this region islands and went with like-minded people into battle under the flag of his native Sardinian kingdom.

The years of World War II were marked by the short-lived existence of the fascist Italian Republic in the north of the Apennine Peninsula.

Its symbol is the same tricolor, with a Roman eagle in the middle. With the end of the World War, the Italian flag lost its coat of arms and acquired a modern look, approved by the Constitution of 1947.

What do the colors mean?

The flag of Italy, according to the 1947 Constitution, has the following colors: “green”, “white”, “red”.

Until the beginning of the 21st century, no one thought about more accurately determining shades. But with the development of digital printing and computer design, this question has become urgent. Colors have acquired digital coding and precise descriptions. In official documents, the coloring of the flag according to the Pantone system is now described as follows: Scarlet Red, Fern Green, Bright White.

According to the generally accepted version, the meaning of the colors is as follows: green symbolizes hope, white is traditionally considered the color of faith, and red represents love. The Italians themselves ironically say that the coloring of their flag is simply a tribute to the national cuisine: red is tomatoes, white is cheese, and green is lettuce. In Russia, this interpretation of the symbol of the country that gave the world pizza and pasta is also very popular.

The tricolors of some countries are very similar to the Italian one. The flags of Mexico and Italy are often confused with each other. Their coloring is identical, but Mexico has a coat of arms in the center, which is not always used.

The coat of arms is not used on Mexico's naval banner, making it impossible for the Italian tricolor to become a universal national symbol, as is the case in France.

Less often, confusion arises with the tricolor of Ireland. The difference between the standards of the countries is in the color of the last stripe: red for Italy, orange for Ireland.

To distinguish them, it is enough to remember that red hair is very common in Ireland. The coloring is not the only difference: Ireland's tricolor is more square.

Another similar state symbol is that of Hungary.

The stripes of the same colors on the Hungarian standard are located horizontally, as on the Russian flag, the coloring is brighter, and the aspect ratio of the Hungarian tricolor is the same as that of Ireland (2:1).

Other countries whose flags are similar to Italy's include Cote d'Ivoire, India and Niger.

Few countries can boast of the same love for a national symbol as the inhabitants of the Apennines. National Flag Day (Festa del tricolore) is celebrated in Italy on January 7 and is of great importance for Italians. On this festive day, they decorate their houses with tricolors and wear clothes of the same colors.

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An excerpt characterizing the Symbols of Italy

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In the era of the primitive communal system, between 1200-1100. BC, Italic tribes appeared on the territory of modern Italy. Somewhat later - the Illyrians, then, around 900-800. BC. - Etruscans, and in the 8th century. BC. - Greeks who settled mainly in the south of the Apennine Peninsula and Sicily. In 753 BC, according to legend, Romulus founded Rome. In the VI century. BC. Rome came under the rule of the Etruscan kings. Around 500 BC A republic was established in Rome. And in 133 BC. Rome established its dominance throughout the Mediterranean.

From 27 BC The era of the Roman Empire began - the period of greatest expansion of its borders. In 395, the Roman Empire was divided into Western and Eastern (Byzantium). In 476, Germanic tribes captured Rome and the Western Roman Empire fell.

Since 568, most of the territory of present-day Italy was occupied by the Lombard kingdom, which was conquered by Emperor Charlemagne in 774.

Beginning in 962, the attempts of the emperors of the “Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation” to establish their power in the north and center of Italy began to be opposed by the one that arose here in the 8th century. Papal States.

In 1072, with the beginning of the reign of Roger I, Norman rule began in southern Italy. In 1194, the Norman regions passed to the German king and Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI, but after the end of the Staufen dynasty in 1268, a period of territorial fragmentation began and in the south, captured by the Normans, the Kingdom of Sicily was formed, which entered into an alliance with the papal throne .

In 1176, the Lombard League of northern Italian cities, strengthened by trade with the East, with the support of the pope, won a victory at Legnano over Frederick I Barbarossa.

In the VIII-XI centuries. in Southern Italy, the maritime republics of Amalfi, Gaeta and Naples strengthened, and in Northern Italy, the republics of Genoa, Pisa and Venice.

In 1442 Alfonso V, King of Aragon, became "King of the Two Sicilies" and until 1713 the Kingdoms of Naples and Sicily were under the rule of the Spanish crown.

In the 16th century The Habsburg dynasty began a struggle with France for influence in Northern Italy, fragmented into small states. In 1705, as a result of the victory of Prince Eugene in the Battle of Turin, all of Lombardy went to Austria. In 1713, after the end of the War of the Spanish Succession, Austria, under the terms of the Peace of Utrecht, received the Kingdom of Naples and the island of Sardinia, and Sicily went to Savoy.

In 1738, under the terms of the Peace of Vienna, Charles VI, Archduke of Austria and Holy Roman Emperor, ceded Naples and Sicily to Spain. Soon, after the death of the last representative of the Medici family, the Grand Duchy of Tuscany also went to Austria.

In 1796, Napoleon I launched a successful campaign against Savoy, which marked the beginning of the liberation of the Italian states from Austrian tutelage. And in 1797, according to the Treaty of Campoformia between France and Austria, the Italian lands passed from Austria to France. Soon Napoleon I abolished the Papal States, whose territory was also annexed to France.

In 1805, Napoleon united the Austrian duchies of Milan and Mantua, the Duchy of Modena, the Venetian Republic, the Papal States and the Austrian possessions on the Adriatic coast of Istria and Dalmatia into a single state - the Kingdom of Italy, of which he himself became king, and appointed king of the Kingdom of Naples in 1806. Joseph Bonaparte, who was then replaced by Joachim Murat.

After the defeat of Napoleon, the Congress of Vienna (1814-1815) restored the rule of the Austrian Habsburgs in Italy, but the Kingdom of Naples, the Papal States and the Kingdom of Sardinia (with its center in Piedmont) remained independent.

In 1838, the Kingdom of Sardinia declared war on Austria, but was defeated. Only the French under Napoleon III in 1859 forced the Austrians to retreat, and in 1861, after Garibaldi liberated areas of southern Italy that had joined the Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinian King Victor Emmanuel II assumed the title of King of Italy.

In 1866, Italy declared war on Austria and was defeated, but Prussia, an ally of Italy, defeated the Austrians in the Sadowa region, as a result of which Lombardy and Venice went to Italy. In 1870, Rome was liberated from the Austrians, the temporal power of the Pope was abolished, and Rome became the capital of a united Italy.

In 1882, the Italian king Umberto I concluded the Triple Alliance with Germany and Austria-Hungary. However, in 1915, Italy entered World War I on the side of the Entente.

In 1919, under the terms of the Saint-Germain Peace Treaty, Italy received South Tyrol, Istria and Trieste from Austria.

In 1925, in Italy, with the consent of King Vittorio Emanuele III, the fascist dictatorship of Benito Mussolini was established.

In July 1940, Italy declared war on Great Britain and France, and in 1941 on the USSR. In 1943, Anglo-American troops landed in Southern Italy and liberated Sicily. Mussolini was overthrown and Italy declared unconditional surrender.

In 1946, Umberto II was proclaimed king of Italy, but in a referendum on the form of government of the country, the majority of the population voted for a republic, which was officially proclaimed on June 10, 1946, and the king left Italy.

In 1949, Italy joined NATO, in 1951 - in the European Coal and Steel Community, in 1955 it joined the UN, and in 1957 it became one of the founders of the Common Market.

In 1954, Trieste was returned to Italy.

Flag

The first states that existed on the territory of Italy, the merchant city-republics of Genoa and Venice, had their own flags already in the Middle Ages. These flags were used primarily as identification marks for ships. For example, the trading galleys of Genoa carried a white cloth with a straight red cross, the warships of Venice carried a red cloth on which there was an image of a golden winged lion with a halo (the symbol of the Evangelist St. Mark), which rested one paw on a book and held a sword with the other.

On the flag of the merchant galleys of Venice, the lion was depicted without a sword, and on the leaves of the open book the letters “RTMEM” were inscribed - an abbreviation of the expression “Peace be with you, Mark, my evangelist.” The flag of the Kingdom of Sicily was a coat of arms: a four-part panel, divided diagonally with pillars of Aragon and black eagles. The flag of Tuscany was also a coat of arms.

The First Italian Campaign, which Napoleon carried out in 1796-1799, crushed all the states that had previously existed on the Apennine Peninsula. Instead, the Jacobin republics were formed: Ligurian, Roman, Partenopean, Ancona. However, most of them were liquidated during the Austro-Russian counter-offensive in 1799, and the remaining ones, after the end of the Second Italian Campaign, united into the Italian Kingdom, which lasted until 1814.

Almost all the Jacobin republics used flags with three stripes of the same size and some variations of colors - modeled on the French flag of 1790. The banners of the Italian military detachments created to support Bonaparte's army were of the same type. Moreover, by this time the regimental banners of the Lombardy Legion already featured white, red and green colors, which had long been considered national in this region.

Thus, according to some information, a similar flag was used during a student demonstration in Bologna in 1795. White and red colors were also present on the ancient coat of arms of the Milan Commune (a red cross on a silver field), and green was the color of the uniform of the Milan Municipal Guard until 1782 . The banners of the Italian Legion, whose soldiers were drafted from the lands of Emilia and Romagna, were subsequently of the same colors.

Most likely, this was the reason that a flag was created from these three colors, formed in 1796 in Italy on the right bank of the river. Poe from Modena, Bologna, Reggio and Ferra, a French dependent Cispadane Republic.

The flag was approved on January 7, 1797, when the Parliament of the Cispadane Republic, at the proposal of deputy Giuseppe Compagnoni, decided: “..the use of the tricolor green-white-red Cispadane flag becomes universal. These same colors should be present on the cispadane cockade.” In the center of the white stripe of this flag was the coat of arms of the republic - a quiver with four arrows, decorated with war trophies and surrounded by a wreath of laurel leaves.

On July 17, 1797, the Transpadan and Cispadan republics were united into the Cisalpine Republic (this state, with an area of ​​42,500 km2, included Lombardy, today's province of Navarre and most of Emilia). The basis for the created national guard of the republic was the militia of the city of Milan. And since the colors of the city police uniform were green and red, the uniforms of the National Guard received the same colors, and the flag of the new republic was a flag of three equal horizontal stripes of the “Milan colors”: white, red and green.

However, already on May 11, 1798, the Grand Council of the Cisalpine Republic decided that the state flag should consist of three vertical stripes: green, white and red. These were the colors of the flag, which had been the unofficial state flag since 1797, but the stripes were horizontal and the order of their alternation was different. This tricolor flag symbolized the patriots of Italy, the program for creating a future Italy, and the Christian virtues of faith, hope and charity (the patriots represented each color with a specific virtue).

The new flag was officially approved by Napoleon, the president of the Cisalpine Republic.

When Napoleon set out to conquer Egypt in 1799, the Cisalpine Republic was liquidated, but on June 4, 1800, after Napoleon's return, it was restored and its green, white and red flag was restored. But by this time this flag had become a symbol of anti-reformist forces, so on August 20, 1802, the patriots adopted a flag with a different design: a red square panel with an inscribed white rhombus in which a green square was inscribed.

In 1805, the Cisalpine Republic was transformed into the Kingdom of Italy and in the same year Napoleon approved its flag: a rectangular red panel with an inscribed white rhombus, in which is inscribed a green rectangle depicting the coat of arms of the kingdom.

Other states that existed in Italy during this period, semi-independent of France, also had their own flags.

After the fall of Napoleon, the Congress of Vienna in 1815 confirmed the previous fragmentation of Italy, which again fell under Austrian influence, and the tricolor flag was banned for three decades - new flags were approved for the Italian states, most of which were created on the basis of red and white -red flag of Austria.

However, the green-white-red flag was used by Italian patriots as a symbol of freedom both in 1831, during the Mazzinian uprising, and during uprisings in the papal dominions. In every corner of Italy, white, red and green symbolized a common hope that fired enthusiasts and inspired poets. “Let us gather under one banner of hope” wrote Goffredo Mameli in his hymn in 1847.

In March 1848, a revolution broke out in Vienna, which immediately led to the uprising of the entire north of Italy and the declaration of independence of some Italian states.

Austrian troops surrendered on March 22, 1848 (later this day was proclaimed by King Charles Albert of Sardinia as Italian Independence Day), but complete independence of all of Italy was achieved only by 1860.

On March 23, 1848, King Charles Albert made a famous speech to the population of the Lombardo-Venetian region, announcing the beginning of the War of Independence. His speech ended with the words: “...to more fully express the feeling of national unity, we want our troops...to bear the coat of arms of the Savoy dynasty on the tricolor Italian banner.”

Soon, in order to avoid the white and red colors of the coat of arms merging with the same colors on the flag, a blue border was added to the dynastic coat of arms.

Soon similar flags were adopted in other Italian states.

On February 18, 1861, the first all-Italian parliament was convened in Turin, which on March 14, 1861 proclaimed the formation of the Kingdom of Italy. The King of Sardinia (Savoy dynasty) became the King of Italy, and the national Italian flag was a tricolor, approved in 1848 by King Emmanuel II of Sardinia.

With the king's coat of arms (a silver cross in a red shield with a blue border) in the center, this flag was officially approved as the state flag of the independent Kingdom of Italy.

But the absence of a corresponding law on the state flag (such a law existed only for military banners) led to the fact that flags in shape completely far from the original began to be produced illegally. Only in 1925 were the types of national and state flags legally defined.

And the royal crown was added to the national flag, which was hung in the residences of the monarch, at parliamentary meetings, in institutions and diplomatic missions.

During the years of Mussolini's dictatorship, along with the state flag, a flag was used, in the center of which was a black Roman eagle holding in its paws a golden Litkor tuft - the emblem of the fascists.

After the end of World War II, on June 18, 1946, Italy was declared a republic. And on June 19, 1946, a legislative presidential decree determined the temporary appearance of the new flag: green-white-red vertical stripes without any emblems.

The Constitutional Assembly approved this flag at a meeting held on March 24, 1947, which was then reflected in Article 12 of the Italian Constitution.

In this form, the flag of Italy has remained unchanged to this day. Its proportions are 2:3.

Coat of arms

After the fall of the Roman Empire, different states existed on the territory of present-day Italy at different periods of history: the Lombard Kingdom, the Republics of Amalfi, Gaeta, Naples, Genoa, Pisa and Venice, the Kingdoms of Naples and Sicily, the Duchy of Milan, the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, the duchies of Milan, Mantua, Modena etc. All of them had their own symbols of state sovereignty.

The coat of arms of the Duchy of Milan represented a blue serpent swallowing a pink baby (the original meaning of the coat of arms was that the baby emerges from the serpent, like the created world emerging from the primeval chaos).

The coat of arms of the Duchy of Tuscany is red “balls”, this is the coat of arms of the ruling Medici dynasty, symbolizing the pills that the ancestors of the dukes, pharmacists, used to treat the sick.

The coat of arms of the Serene Republic of Genoa was a red cross on a silver field.

The coat of arms of the Kingdom of Sicily was a four-part shield, divided diagonally, with pillars of Aragon and black eagles (see article on coats of arms of Spain).

The coat of arms of the Most Serene Republic of Venice is a golden winged lion in a blue field, symbolizing the Evangelist Mark, the patron saint of the republic.

The ancient coat of arms of the Kingdom of Sardinia, where the Savoy dynasty ruled since 1720, was reminiscent of the fight against the Saracens: a red cross in a silver field, in each quarter - a black head of a Moor. In the 18th century instead of this, the dynastic coat of arms began to be used, known since 1239: a silver cross in a red field.

In the kleinode of the Savoy coat of arms there is a golden winged head of a lion, as if holding a helmet in its mouth. This symbolized the connection with Venice, where the Savoy dukes were considered respectable patricians. This coat of arms is similar to the coat of arms of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem (Order of Malta), which recalls Amedee IV's assistance to the Order of Savoy in the defense of the island of Rhodes against the Turks. The former coat of arms of the Savoy dynasty - a black eagle in a golden field, was sometimes used later, but with a “Rhodes” cross on the eagle’s chest.

But all these coats of arms are the coats of arms of states that were part of present-day Italy. The first actual Italian coat of arms was established by Emperor Napoleon I. In 1805, he took the title of King of Italy and was crowned with an ancient Italian crown, which looked like a gold hoop without teeth, inside of which was an iron one. According to legend, the iron circlet of this crown, called the “iron crown of the Lombard kings,” was made from the nail with which Jesus Christ was nailed to the cross, which is why it had that name.

The shield of this coat of arms is five-part with a central shield. In the first part, in a red field, two crossed keys of St. Peter and a staff, crowned with a papal tiara. In the second - in a blue field, the Lion of St. Mark, without a Bible and crowned with a Phrygian cap - a Jacobin symbol of freedom. In the third there is a white eagle (coat of arms of Modena) in a blue field. In the fourth - in a red field, divided by a silver cross, a blue tournament collar at the head, in the fourth part of the field - a silver tower. In the fifth, in a silver field, a blue grass snake is spewing out a baby from its mouth (coat of arms of Milan).

In the central shield in a gold field with a red border encumbered with eight silver rings is the blue iron crown of Lombardy. The shield, which rests on the chest of a gold French imperial eagle, is framed by a chain with the sign of the Legion of Honor. Above the eagle's head is a Napoleonic star. All this rests on an ermine mantle with a green lining.

Coat of arms of the Kingdom of Italy (1805-1814)

Although after the overthrow of Napoleon, the Italian kingdom was again fragmented, the idea of ​​Italian unity was accepted by the king from the Savoyard dynasty who ruled Sardinia, whose state, in addition to the island of Sardinia, also included Piedmont, Savoy and Genoa.

Coat of arms of the kings of Sardinia (1815-1870)

In 1848-1880 the standard of the King of Sardinia, white with a blue border, featured in the center the coat of arms of Savoy, superimposed on top of four Italian flags.

On March 17, 1861, the King of Sardinia became the King of Italy, whose coat of arms was established as the coat of arms of the Kingdom of Savoy: a silver straight cross in a red field. The shield was surrounded by a chain of the Order of Renewal, as well as oak and laurel branches. This was placed on the royal robe, topped with a crown and sometimes a star.

Coat of arms of the Italian Kingdom (1870-1890)

However, on the royal standard from 1880 and on coins issued between 1900 and 1910. the coat of arms was different - a black eagle crowned with a crown, on the chest of which there was a Sardinian coat of arms with a blue border.

Coat of arms on the standard of the King of Italy (1880)

On January 1, 1890, a new state emblem was approved by royal decree. It was crowned with a specially created "Savoy royal crown", which was similar to the usual royal one, but the leaf-shaped teeth on its hoop were interspersed with white Savoy crosses edged in red, and the orb crowning the crown was decorated with a golden trefoil cross, traditionally associated with the saint Mauritius is the patron saint of Savoy.

The coat of arms also had a magnificent canopy and a state banner, the shaft of which was crowned with a Savoy eagle and fluttering ribbons with the battle cries of the family: “Savoy!”, “Saint Mauritius!” and “Good news!”

For a long time the coat of arms remained virtually unchanged, only at the end of the 19th century. The shield was surrounded by a sash with the inscription FERT (an abbreviation of the motto "Fortitudo Eius Rhodum Tenuit" - "His valor saved Rhodes", referring to the exploits of King Amadeus IV) with the sign of the Order of the Annunciation, and was framed by olive and oak branches.

Large and medium coat of arms of Italy

During the years of Mussolini's dictatorship, along with the coat of arms of the kingdom, the emblem of the fascists also became the state symbol of Italy: the lictor's bun. Two lictor's tufts replaced the shield holders - lions - on the state emblem.

In 1943, the dictatorship was overthrown and the coat of arms was returned to its previous appearance. Thus, throughout the history of the kingdom's coat of arms, its central part - a silver cross in a red field - remained unchanged.

The modern state symbol of Italy was approved by the president of the country on May 5, 1948. But this is not a coat of arms, but a state emblem, since it is not composed in the traditions of classical Italian heraldry.

In the center of the emblem is a silver five-pointed star with a red border, which symbolizes a single nation and a republic. Under the star there is a steel gear wheel - a symbol of labor and human creativity. The coat of arms is framed by branches: on the right is olive - a symbol of peace and the southern part of the country; on the left is an oak tree - a symbol of strength and the northern part. At the bottom of the branches are tied with a red ribbon with the name of the state “REPUBBLICA ITALIANA”.

The decision to create a symbol of Italy was made in October 1946.

The government of A. de Gasperi established a special Commission chaired by I. Bonomi, which began its work with great enthusiasm. It was decided to announce an open competition throughout the country with the following conditions: the Star of Italy, as well as the symbols of its lands and municipalities, should be displayed on the coat of arms. At the same time, the use of symbols of political parties was strictly prohibited.

The authors of the five best works were promised a prize of 10,000 lire. The creative process of creating the state emblem lasted almost two years. About 500 people took part in the two announced competitions, including both professional artists and amateurs. A total of 800 sketches were submitted. 637 black and white drawings by 341 authors were submitted to the first competition. The five winners were asked to produce new sketches, but on a more specific topic put forward by the Commission. Namely, in the center of the coat of arms is a fortress wall with towers, forming the shape of a crown, framed by garlands of branches typical of Italian flora.

At the top is the golden Star of Italy, at the bottom is an image of the sea, as well as the words: Unity and Freedom. The choice fell on the sketch by Paolo Paschetto. The artist received an additional 50,000 lire and the task of preparing the final drawing, which the Commission subsequently had to submit for approval to the government, placing it along with the works of the other finalists in the exhibition hall on Via Margutta.

But during the discussions, opinions were divided, and therefore a new Commission was appointed, which announced a re-competition. Unfortunately, there is no information about him, but an analysis of some documents suggests that his main task was to search for a symbol associated with the idea of ​​labor. And this time the winner was again Paolo Paschetto, whose drawings were subsequently corrected by members of the Commission.

This sketch was sent to the Constitutional Assembly and, despite some contradictions, was approved at its meeting on January 31, 1948. And on May 5, after completing all the modifications and determining the final colors, the President of the Republic Enrico de Nicola signed legislative decree No. 535 on the appropriation of Italy her new symbol.

Thus, the emblem of the Italian Republic consists of 3 elements: a star, a cogwheel and olive and oak branches. The star is one of the most ancient iconographic images of Italy. She has always been associated with the image of this country, which is believed to illuminate with her radiant radiance. This is how it was represented in the iconography of the times of the Risorgimento (Italian: Risorgimento - literally “rebirth”, the national liberation movement of the Italian people against foreign domination, for the unification of fragmented Italy, as well as the period when this movement took place (late 18th century - 1861) ended in 1870 by joining the Italian Kingdom of Rome) and this way it existed on the large coat of arms of the united Kingdom until 1890. Then, during the Reconstruction, the star was crowned with a republican badge of honor - the Star of Italian Solidarity.

Today, her presence indicates her affiliation with the Italian armed forces. The steel cogwheel is a symbol of labor and reflects the first article of the Constitutional Law, which states: “Italy is a democratic republic founded on labor.” The olive branch symbolizes the peacefulness of the nation, meaning the desire for internal harmony in the country and international brotherhood beyond its borders. The oak branch speaks of the strength and dignity of the Italian people. At the same time, both of these branches represent the two most typical types of Italian vegetation.

But since its approval, many have considered this emblem not specific enough for Italy, and on the country’s naval flags, as well as on the presidential standard, the combined coat of arms of Venice, Genoa, Amalfi and Pisa is depicted instead. Therefore, since 1987, work has been underway in Italy to create a new state emblem, but things have not yet moved beyond projects.

The Italian Republic is a parliamentary republic

Area: 301,228 km2.

Capital: Rome.

Official language: Italian.

The head of state is the president. The highest body of legislative power is the bicameral parliament, the highest body of executive power is the cabinet of ministers (government).

Administrative division: 20 regions, including 94 provinces. It is also customary to divide into economic regions of the North, Center and South.

Seborga

The Principality of Seborga is a constitutional monarchy.

Area: 14 km2.

Capital: Seborga

Located in Liguria, in the Floral Riviera of Italy, on the border with France.

Seborga (originally Castrum Sepulcri), a fief of the Counts of Ventimiglia, was a very important base for the Catari, a religious sect that later spread to nearby Provenza and Lingua De Oc. In 954, the fief of Seborga passed to the Benedictine monks of Santa Onorato. In 954, Seborga became a city-state in which, according to the monastic charter of that time, the abbot was elected, but he was also the ruler of the city - the Prince of Seborga. In this regard, British historians consider Seborga to be the first constitutional monarchy in the world.

Soon the fief of Seborga, which included the church of San Michele in Ventimiglia with extensive surrounding areas, was awarded the status of a principality. After the Emperor of Vienna assigned a new status to the possession in 1079 and received confirmation of the donation from Counts Ottone and Corrado, as well as from their mother Countess Armilina, Seborga became a principality of the Holy Roman Empire.

On December 24, 1666, Prince/Abbot Edward opened a mint in the Principality, which minted its own coin, the Luigino. On April 23, 1995, Prince Giorgio I, based on existing medieval legislation, resumed the operation of the mint and the minting of luigino.

In 1963, almost the entire population of Seborga, as in the Middle Ages elected an abbot/prince, elected their ruler - Prince Giorgio I.

Since in 1748 the Principality of Seborga was not included in the Republic of Genoa, was not defined as part of the Kingdom of Sardinia at the Venetian Congress, is not mentioned in the Act of Italian Unification in 1861 and there is not a single official document on the inclusion of the Principality of Seborga in the Republic of Italy , formed in 1946, international law experts recognize that the Principality of Seborga cannot be considered an integral part of Italy.

Leonid Spatkay, website istpravda.ru