Italy’s national flag is a vertical tricolor of three equal bands: green at the hoist, white in the center, and red at the fly.
Specification
Article 12 of the Constitution defines the flag of the Republic as the Italian tricolor: green, white, and red in three vertical bands of equal size. A 2:3 rectangle is the common national presentation.
Official textile references
Pantone Textile 17-6153Pantone Textile 11-0601Pantone Textile 18-1662Construction notes
Divide the fly into three equal vertical rectangles. Green touches the hoist and red forms the free edge. Article 12 fixes the order and equal dimensions of the bands; production colors should follow the official textile references for ceremonial flags.
Historical record
An Italian tricolor was adopted by the Cispadane Republic at Reggio Emilia on 7 January 1797. The design later became associated with national unification. The Kingdom of Italy used a tricolor charged with the Savoy arms; after the Republic was established, a decree of 19 June 1946 provisionally established the plain tricolor, which Article 12 of the Constitution subsequently confirmed.
Source trail
Presidency of the Republic: The Italian Tricolour Flag ↗
Italian Senate: Constitution, Article 12 ↗
Presidency of the Council of Ministers: state ceremonial color references ↗
Constitutional design, customary proportions and screen colors
Article 12 defines the colors as green, white and red, arranged in three equal vertical bands. It does not specify an overall aspect ratio or hexadecimal color values. The imported record describes 2:3 (height to horizontal width) as a common national presentation; this qualified ratio should not be read as a constitutional specification.
The imported record lists Pantone Textile 17-6153 for green, 11-0601 for white and 18-1662 for red, citing state ceremonial guidance. These textile references concern physical reproduction. The displayed swatches—#228848, #FFFFFF and #CB2C30—are screen approximations, not official hexadecimal equivalents of those textile references.
How to read the construction
The hoist is the edge attached to the pole; the fly is the opposite, free edge. Divide the flag’s total horizontal width into three equal vertical bands: green at the hoist, white in the center and red at the fly. Each band occupies one third of the total width and spans the full height. This is what the imported construction note means by “Divide the fly.”
| Date or stage | Milestone | Design distinction |
|---|---|---|
| 7 January 1797 | The Cispadane Republic adopted an Italian tricolor at Reggio Emilia. | An origin of the Italian tricolor tradition; this does not identify the 1797 flag with the current design. |
| Kingdom of Italy | The Kingdom used a tricolor bearing the Savoy arms. | The royal emblem distinguishes this form from the republican plain tricolor. |
| 19 June 1946 | A decree provisionally established the republican plain tricolor. | The provisional establishment of the republican form, rather than the first adoption of an Italian tricolor. |
| Subsequent constitutional confirmation | Article 12 confirmed the republican tricolor. | Green, white and red in three equal vertical bands. |