The coat of arms of Italy.

Italian Republic is a unique country, while at the same time one of the most ancient powers and a fairly young nation.Fragmented Duchy of Italy finally united in the XIX century.Today it is one of the major powers, the country - a member of the Group of Eight (G8).Flag and coat of arms of Italy are integral elements of state symbols.Each of them has its own history and significance.

Italian tricolor: two versions of the birth of

history flag of the country is quite interesting.The colors of national flag of Italy established at the time of Napoleon.But first, the location of the bands was horizontal, not vertical, as it is now.The usual form of the flag has acquired only in 1798, and in 1805, when the country acquired the status of kingdom, green band adorned image of golden Napoleonic eagle.Only after the Second World War, in 1946, he disappeared from the flag state.The coat of arms of Italy has also changed, and got rid of the image of a bird that was present on it.

According to one version, the colors taken from the colors of the flag of Milan police shapes.First it was green and white, and since 1976, after the police was renamed the National Guard of Italy, was added to the tones and red uniforms.

There is another informal, but a rather unusual story of the emergence of the Italian flag.Once, during the revolutionary unrest, protesters needed a symbol of the nation.In the presence of such it was not, and it was necessary to urgently solve this problem.Then one of the participants of rallies ran home, found three colored cloth and hastily sewed them together.The resulting panel, and later became the Italian flag.

Flag of Italy today

modern attributes of state symbols has three vertical stripes.The official version of the interpretation of this particular color combination is as follows: green stands for faith, white is a symbol of hope, the red band represents love.In the same colors and is made present national emblem of Italy.

In 2005, the Italian Parliament passed a law that provides for punishment for damaging national flag and abuse them in a fine, the amount of which varies from 1,000 to 1,500 euros.Today, in the case of abuse of state symbols in public places the offender will have to pay 10 000 euros.

history of the coat of arms: the Roman professor wrote himself into the history

Coat of Italy in the form in which it exists now, the official decree was approved two years later than the Italian flag in 1948.

This event was preceded by a very rigorous competitive selection process, which lasted for two years.On court specially created commission included about a thousand works in black and white.Prerequisite consideration thumbnail image of the emblem was a five-pointed star, which symbolizes the earth and the municipalities that are part of Italy.

win the competition Pasketto Paolo, who at that time was a professor at the Institute of High Arts in Rome.He was given a cash award and an exclusive right to create a final version of the coat of arms.

By coincidence, not everyone came to taste the winning sketch that was the reason for the additional competitive stage.However, luck was clearly on the side of a successful and talented professor, because he managed to win for the second time.His work has undergone a small adjustment and acquired color.In this form there is a coat of arms of Italy to date.

What symbol, Italy, your?

As mentioned above, the colors of the Italian coat of arms in common with those used in the national flag.It is a combination of white, green and red.Each coat of arms has a hidden meaning.Each country has his own.Is no exception to this rule and the emblem of Italy.What does each of its elements and carries a hidden message?

Star since time immemorial has been a symbol of the country and still present on the arms of the Kingdom of Italy.It is believed that it illuminates the whole state and its lands and its radiance is all the suffering to their shores, that travelers do not go astray.

gear depicted on the emblem embodies the hard work of the Italian people.According to another version, this wheel with teeth symbolizes the battlements and towers of ancient Rome.

olive branch to the left of the star, is the friendliness of the Italians and their desire for peace with other nations.Interestingly, the olive tree - a very common tree in the country, one of the most long-lived, and perhaps the most important food source for a number of Italians.From the fruit makes the world's best olive oil, olives are present in many national dishes and are always present on the table of almost every resident of Italy.

branch of another tree, oak, framing the star on the right, is a symbol of dignity and strength of the Italian nation.

When an ordinary person is reading the description of the coat of arms of Italy, without any explanation, it seems a little strange to him.However, each element has a meaning, and they are all connected with the distant past of this country.