L'Italo-Americano

L'Italo-Americano THURSDAY, JANUARY 13, 2022 www.italoamericano.org 4 BARBARA MINAFRA NEWS & FEATURES TOP STORIES PEOPLE EVENTS H a p p i n e s s , t r i u m p h s , a n d p a i n a r e a l w a y s g r e e n , white, and red in Italy, just like the colors of the flag. O u r b e l o v e d T r i c o l o r e that, for 225 years, has been flying in every village and city in the country, on every public building from schools and town halls, all the way to the Quirinale. The same flag that fills our sports are- nas and every athlete proud- ly wears on the podium. The s a m e f l a g e v e r y s e r v i c e - woman and serviceman pro- tects with pride and respect. The Tricolore: a ubiquitous presence in all our official ceremonies, a symbol of our i n s t i t u t i o n s , v a l u e s , a n d ideals, the very same values and ideals for which many have fallen, and just as many stood up, with honor, to lead the way. T h e f i r s t m o n t h s o f the pandemic had the col- o r s o f t h e T r i c o l o r e , t o o . F r o m N o r t h t o S o u t h , Italians flew it at their win- dows and balconies, a tri- umph of flags that embodied a sense of community, soli- d a r i t y , a n d c l o s e n e s s , despite the lockdown and our fear, to one another. But it also symbolized the coun- try's call to be strong and resist: for our healthcare w o r k e r s , w h o h a d b e e n fighting an unknown enemy in every hospital, and for a society suddenly brought to its knees by infections and death. "A symbol of Italy, bear- ing witness to the path that led to the creation of our free, democratic Republic," a s s t a t e d b y P r e s i d e n t Sergio Mattarella a hand- ful of days before the end of his 7-year-long mandate. Indeed, the Italian Republic was only born 76 years ago, on the 2nd of June 1946, after the fall of the Kingdom of Italy, created 85 years earlier, on the 17th of March 1 8 6 1 , d u r i n g t h e Risorgimento, the period in our history that led to the unification of the country ( a l t h o u g h R o m e w a s t o b e c o m e I t a l i a n o n l y i n 1 8 7 0 ) . B u t w h e n t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n a l A s s e m b l y chose these colors to repre- sent the newly-born post- m o n a r c h i c s t a t e , the Tricolore was already a c e n t u r y a n d a h a l f o l d . O f f i c i a l l y , t h e u n i o n b e t w e e n I t a l y a n d the Tricolore dates back to t h e 1 s t o f J a n u a r y 1 9 4 8 , when our Constitution came into effect. Article 12 estab- lishes that "The flag of the Republic is the Italian tri- color: green, white and red, in three vertical bands of equal size." But the connec- t i o n i s m u c h o l d e r a n d much deeper. The Italian flag, which was born 149 years before Italy herself, celebrates this year its 225th birthday, and t h e G i o r n a t a d e l Tricolore, which has been taking place since 1997, offi- cially honors the date, the 7th of January 1797, when it was chosen in Reggio Emilia to distinguish the Italian troops of Napoleon's army from the French. The blue o f t h e F r e n c h t r i c o l o r became green, a nod to the u n i f o r m s o f M i l a n ' s Guardia Civica, which had been used since 1782, and the flag became a symbol of the volunteers that fought for Italy. The other colors of the Legione Lombarda were t h e w h i t e a n d t h e r e d o f Milan's coat of arms, a red c r o s s o n a w h i t e b a c k - g r o u n d . T h e s a m e c o l o r s w e r e t h e n u s e d f o r the Legione Italiana, where soldiers from Emilia and Romagna enrolled, and that w a s p r o b a b l y t h e r e a s o n w h y t h e R e p u b b l i c a Cispadana chose them, too. Back then, the symbol of the republic, a quiver contain- ing four arrows, surrounded by a garland of laurel and a d o r n e d b y a t r o p h y o f arms, was in its middle. I n i t i a l l y , t h e T r i c o l o r e was, therefore, the flag of the Repubblica Cispadana, created in 1796 and com- prising Bologna, Ferrara, Modena, and Reggio, cities m a d e i n d e p e n d e n t b y Napoleon. Later, Romagna, G a r f a g n a n a , M a s s a a n d C a r r a r a b e c a m e p a r t o f t h e R e p u b b l i c a , t o o . I t s Constitution, inspired by the French (1795), was pub- l i s h e d i n 1 7 9 7 . S o m e months later, by order of Napoleon, it merged with the Repubblica Cisalpina, which included a large part o f t h e o l d D u c a t o d i M i l a n o , a n d t h e a r e a s o f B e r g a m o , C r e m o n a , a n d M o d e n a . O n t h e 1 7 t h o f October 1797, the Trattato di Campoformio between France and Austria ended t h e e x i s t e n c e o f t h e Republic of Venice (which became Austrian), and also t h e a r e a s o f B r e s c i a , M a n t o v a , a n d V a l t e l l i n a were annexed. Napoleon's first Italian Campaign (1796-1799) oblit- erated the ancient system of independent states in the peninsula, which were re- placed by several democratic Jacobin republics: the Re- pubblica Ligure, the R e p u b b l i c a R o m a n a , the Repubblica Parteno- pea, the Repubblica Anconi- tana. The vast majority of them didn't survive the Aus- trian-Russian offensive of 1799; others merged, after Napoleon's second Italian Campaign, in the Regno Ital- ico, which was to last until 1814. With the end of Napoleonic rule, however, the Tricolore was abolished and lost during the 30 years of the Restoration. Yet, Ital- ians brought it to battle against foreign enemies many times, and it became a symbol of freedom in the rev- olutions of 1831, in Mazzini's insurrections, and many pop- ular revolts. The flag no longer had any dynastic nor military association: it em- bodied people, freedom, and those ideals of independence that nourished our Risorgi- Continued to page 6 Francesco Saverio Altamura's painting "The First Italian Flag Brought to Florence" (1859) (Copyrighted work available under Creative Commons Agreement. Author: www.difesa.it. License: Public Domain) Il Tricolore: 225 years young

• Cover