Kingdom of Italy - Civil and Merchant Flag.
This wool Italian flag is marked with the word: "ITALY". Examples like this flag were used by U.S. merchant marine vessels trading with Italy. They were also very popular with Italian American emigrant groups in the United States. This wool flag is marked in feet with metal grommets, the hallmarks of American manufacture, and was likely made in the U.S. for use by the huge Italian-American immigrant community that resided there.
The colors of the Italian flag have their genesis during the Napoleonic Wars, but took the vertical orientation of the stripes from the tricolor of France when the Cisalpine Republic adopted the flag in 1798. In 1861, the arms of the House of Savoy were added to the flag and it became the flag of the Kingdom. Thus the Kingdom of Italy continued to use the red, white and green tricolor of the 1848 Kingdom of Sardinia.
During WWII it featured on the side of the axis and this flag served as the national, civil and state flag of Italy. With a crown above the arms, it also served as the naval ensign and war flag. This flag is typical of flags that were around when the Kingdom of Italy was coming to an end before being declared a republic in 1946.
Today, the Italian national flag on land features the unadorned tricolor.
Provenance:
- From the Veninga Flag Collection, acquired at Moss Landing, CA
ZFC Noteworthy Flag
Provenance: From the Veninga Flag Collection
Sources:
Italy, Flags of the World, 29 July 2012, from: http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/it.html
Flag of Italy, Wikipedia, 29 July 2012, from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Italy
Image Credits:
Zaricor Flag Collection
