Tricolore – The Italian Flag
The present flag of Italy was adopted in 1948. Italians call it Tricolore because it has three colors – green, white, and red. All the previous Italian flags were all designed with these three colors. There are quite a few attributions as to why these particular colors were chosen and what do they mean. The white and red come from the Cispadane Republic, while the green comes from the military uniforms. According to some people the green stands for the plains of Italy, the white for the snowy hills of the Alps, and the red for those killed in the independence wars. A more religious explanation of the colors is green – hope, white – faith, and red – charity. One thing is sure about the colors of the flag, and it is that they are very specific. The green is a fern green, the white is a bright white, and the red is a flame scarlet.
In the world there are many flags that are similar to the Italian one. The best example is the flag of Mexico. They differ in aspect ratios – Italian 2:3 and Mexican 4:7. The Mexican flag uses darker shades of both green and red and it has an emblem (Mexican coat of arms) over the white part. The Italian flag is also similar to those of Ireland, Hungary, and France.
Italians celebrate their flag on the 7th of January. Although this is an official holiday, it is not a paid one. The Tricolore is a beautiful flag and it has proudly represented Italy throughout the world.
