Tricolor Festival in Reggio Emilia

(To COMFOP NORTH)
07/01/25

In Reggio Emilia, in Piazza Prampolini, the solemn flag-raising ceremony took place on the occasion of the 228th anniversary of the adoption of the first Tricolore. This event, of the highest symbolic value, celebrates the adoption of what would become the symbol of the unity and identity of our Nation: the Italian flag, emblem of freedom and belonging.

The ceremony saw the deployment of an inter-force honor company and the band of the anti-aircraft artillery command (COMACA), and officially opened the program of celebrations for the "National Flag Day", underlining the relevance and importance of the event. In a climate of deep respect and patriotism, the Tricolore, in a city considered a milestone in Italian history.

The event was coordinated by the Army military command (CME) "Emilia-Romagna", an entity dependent on the North Operating Forces command (COMFOP-N), jointly with the Prefecture and the Municipality of Reggio Emilia.

The prefect of Reggio Emilia, Maria Cociuffa accompanied by the commander of the territorial area of North Operating Forces command (COMFOP-N), Major General Ugo Cillo, paid homage to the War Flag of the 121st anti-aircraft artillery regiment “Ravenna” of Bologna, a symbol of belonging and sacrifice of its fallen, and then reviewed the inter-force formation company. The ceremony was also attended by the highest local military and civil authorities, including the President of the Emilia-Romagna Region, Michele de Pascale.

The anniversary, which celebrates the "National Flag Day", established by law no. 671 of 31 December 1996, recalls the date in 1797 when the representatives of the four cities of Reggio Emilia, Modena, Bologna and Ferrara, gathered in congress in the Palazzo Comunale of the capital of Reggio, welcomed the proposal of the deputy Giuseppe Compagnoni to adopt a Tricolour flag in which green, white and red were married for the first time on the flag of the first sovereign state of Italy: the Cispadane Republic.

Il Tricolore green, white and red since 1797 has represented the symbol of freedom for the Italian people and therefore for the nation itself, continuing to be raised during the Risorgimento and being adopted in 1848 by the Kingdom of Sardinia with the addition of a shield with a white cross and a red field. In 1861, when the Unification of Italy was declared, the tricolour was consequently chosen for the national flag.