Cockade of Italy

Cockade of Italy

The cockade of Italy (Italian: Coccarda italiana tricolore) is the national ornament of Italy, obtained by folding a green, white and red ribbon into a plissé using the technique called plissage (pleating). It is one of the national symbols of Italy and is composed of the three colours of the Italian flag with the green in the centre, the white immediately outside and the red on the edge.[1] The cockade, a revolutionary symbol, was the protagonist of the uprisings that characterized the Italian unification, being pinned on the jacket or on the hats in its tricolour form by many of the patriots of this period of Italian history. During which, the Italian Peninsula achieved its own national unity, culminating on 17 March 1861 with the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy.[2] On 14 June 1848, it replaced the azure cockade on the uniforms of some departments of the Royal Sardinian Army (becoming the Royal Italian Army in 1861), while on 1 January 1948, with the birth of the Italian Republic, it took its place as a national ornament.[3]

The Italian tricolour cockade appeared for the first time in Genoa on 21 August 1789,[4] and with it the colours of the three Italian national colours.[4] Seven years later, the first tricolour military banner was adopted by the Lombard Legion in Milan on 11 October 1796,[5] and eight years later, the birth of the flag of Italy had its origins on 7 January 1797, when it became for the first time a national flag of an Italian sovereign State, the Cispadane Republic.[6]

The Italian tricolour cockade is one of the symbols of the Italian Air Force, and is widely used on all Italian state aircraft, not only military.[7] The cockade is the basis of the parade frieze of the Bersaglieri, cavalry regiments, Carabinieri and Guardia di Finanza,[8][9] and a reproduction of it in fabric is sewn on the shirts of the sports teams holding the Coppa Italia (English: Italy Cup) that are organized in various national team sports.[10] It is tradition, for the most important offices of the State, excluding the President of the Italian Republic, to have a tricolour cockade pinned to their jacket during the military parade of the Festa della Repubblica, which is celebrated every 2 June.[11]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference castellalfero was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Barbero 2015, chapt. XVIII.
  3. ^ "Le origini della bandiera italiana" (in Italian). Retrieved 14 August 2018.
  4. ^ a b Ferorelli, Nicola (1925). "La vera origine del tricolore italiano". Rassegna Storica del Risorgimento (in Italian). XII (fasc. III): 662. Archived from the original on 2019-03-31. Retrieved 2019-09-25.
  5. ^ "L'Esercito del primo Tricolore" (PDF) (in Italian). Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 March 2017. Retrieved 8 March 2017.
  6. ^ "I simboli della Repubblica" (PDF) (in Italian). Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 October 2015. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  7. ^ "San Felice, escursionista di Gaeta ferito mentre scende dal Picco di Circe" (in Italian). 17 April 2017. Retrieved 21 August 2018.
  8. ^ "I cento anni del nostro fregio" (PDF) (in Italian). Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 August 2018. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  9. ^ "Il cappello piumato". Archived from the original on 13 March 2017. Retrieved 13 August 2018.
  10. ^ "Quando scudetto e coccarda sono sulla stessa maglia..." (in Italian). 4 January 2011. Retrieved 1 May 2012.
  11. ^ "2 giugno, gli applausi per Mattarella e Conte all'Altare della Patria" (in Italian). 6 February 2018. Retrieved 2 June 2018.