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ITALIAN FLAG FACTS

The tricolor, based on the flag of France, with green instead of blue was first used in northern Italy in 1796.  One legend is that green was Napoleon's favorite color.  The flag appeared in the French Republics in northern Italy set up in the 18th century and was adopted in 1797-1798 by the Cisalpine Republic.  the king of Sardinia-Piedmont, Charles Albert, adopted the green, white and red tricolor in 1848 with the arms of the House of Savoy in the center.  In 1946 when Italy proclaimed itself a republic, the arms were removed.  The national flag of Italy became the vertical Tricolor, green, white and red and carries the colors of the Milanese Militia. The provinces of Italy each have their own flag.

The Italian flag when at sea uses two different emblems in the center to distinguish it from the national flag of Mexico, which it closely resembles.