This page is part of © FOTW Flags Of The World website

Italy - Political Flags (Part 2)

Last modified: 2003-04-19 by dov gutterman
Keywords: italy |
Links: FOTW homepage | search | disclaimer and copyright | write us | mirrors




See also:


Democratici


by Marcus Schmöger, 19 July 2002

The flag of the "Democratici", belonging to "Margherita", sub-coalition of Ulivo.
Marcus Schmöger, 19 July 2002

I am startled to see Italy's new Democrats using the donkey that has long (since the nineteenth century) symbolized the Democratic Party in the United States.  Is the symbol well enough known in Italy to be worth imitating?
John Ayer, 20 July 2002

Inside political circles, yes. For the general public, no. But IMHO they never tried to appeal to a wide audience as a party with a specific identity, seeing themselves as a temporary step to a bigger party, either the unified party of the centre-left "Ulivo" coalition or, as it's now, the "Margherita" party.
Two things worth noting: the background and the lettering of the symbol are just the same as seen on Ulivo's symbol, and the little donkey has a certain "Disney" appeal that a lot of people in Italy found questionable.
On the other side, the Alleanza Nazionale party (at the right side of the spectrum, and currently 2nd biggest partner in the government coalition) tried once to use the elephant in an election coalition, together with Mr. Segni' s "Pact for Italy" but the poll result was discouraging and therefore the symbol was dropped. See <space.tin.it>.
There is a certain trend going on in the Italian political life to pick up exterior aspects of the US politics, without really getting to the core.
Alessio F. Bragadini, 20 July 2002

You can see a photo of the flag at <www.democraticiperlulivo.it/bandiera.jpg>.
Logo at <www.democraticiperlulivo.it/logo2000.jpg>.
Dov Gutterman, 22 July 2002

Democratici ("Democratici per l'Ulivo" = Democrats for the Olive Tree <www.democraticiperlulivo.it>) - After the fall of the Prodi government in 1998, Romano Prodi started to build a new party as a merger movement of the centrist parts of the Ulivo coalition and groups affiliated to it. The party even attracted the former member of the Greens and mayor of Rome, Francesco Rutelli, who became candidate for prime minister for the 2001 elections, but lost against Berlusconi. Under the leadership of Arturo Parisi the Democratici are part of the "Margherita" sub-coalition. In the two parliamentary chambers the "Democratici" members are part of the "Margherita" group.
The logo of the "Democratici" shows a donkey (as an allusion to the symbol of the American Democrats) on a field of white blending into light blue, and the inscription "i Democratici". The flag is a blueish green with the logo in the center. The background colour of the flag (blueish green) as well as the style of the inscription in the logo are the same as in the symbols of "L'Ulivo", of which the "Democratici" form part of. Fotos of the flag at: <www.democraticiperlulivo.it/bandiera.jpg>, <mantini2.jpg>, <minisini2.jpg> and <Piazza10.JPG>.
Marcus Schmöger, 1 August 2002


Democrats of the Left (Democratici di Sinistra)

New Flag


by Marcus Schmöger, 29 June 2002

The new flag of Democratic Party of the Left (Partito Democratico della Sinistra) is used in all the officials demonstrations and it is the party logo on red.
Mark Fromm, 21 December 2000

The name Partito Democratico della Sinistra was changed into Democratici di Sinistra (or I Democratici di Sinitra), this to be more opened to the other components of the left.
Jérôme Sterkers, 14 November 2001

One can see a photo of the flag at <www.roma.democraticidisinistra.it>. Party and other logos can be reached through <www.roma.democraticidisinistra.it> .
Dov Gutterman, 22 January 2002

At the 1st May demonstrations in Munich there are also always political parties and groups from foreign countries including Italy. Flag of DS (Democratici di Sinistra = Democrats of the Left) - The DS is the largest party of the L'Ulivo coalition. The main fraction of the former PCI (Partito Comunista Italiano = Italian Communist Party) adopted a new name in 1991: PDS (Partito Democratico della Sinistra = Democratic Party of the Left). It has renamed itself again in 1998 (absorbing several smaller left parties) into DS. The symbol of the DS shows (on a white circle) a tree on a green base; at the top the black inscription "DEMOCRATICI DI SINISTRA"; at the bottom the symbol of the PSE/PES, the European Socialist Party, a red rose in a circle of 12 black stars (already reported by me 16 May). The flag is red with the symbol in the center.
Sources:
- own observations at the 1st May 2001 and 2002 demos in Munich
- website of DS at <www.dsonline.it>
Marcus Schmöger, 29 June 2002

In 1998, the PDS (main fraction of the old Communist Party) again changed its name, this time into DS (Democratici di Sinistra = Democrats of the Left). The logo and flag were also changed, as already described.
Marcus Schmöger, 2 August 2002

Previous Flag


by Marcus Schmöger, 2 August 2002


by Marcus Schmöger, 2 August 2002

In 1991, the main fraction of the Communist Party (Partito dei Comunisti Italiani) renamed the party into PDS (Partito Democratico della Sinistra = Democratic Party of the Left). The logo and the flag were changed as well. The new logo showed an oak tree with its roots in the old PCI symbol, as well as the name of the party. The flag was red with the logo in the center. Two variants of the logo were also used: either with the additional inscription "SINISTRA DEMOCRATICA" (Democratic Left) or the inscription "SINISTRA EUROPEA" (European Left). However, I have not seen these logo variants used on flags.
Marcus Schmöger, 2 August 2002

Juvenile Left (Sinistra Giovanile )


by Marcus Schmöger, 2 August 2002

Photo of the flag at <www.singio.org>.
Dov Gutterman, 13 September 1999

It is "Juvenile Left" flag
Santiago Dotor, 13 September 1999

The youth organization of the DS (formerly PDS) is the "Sinistra Giovanile" (Juvenile Left). The flag shows the logo (a yellow outline of a rose with inscriptions "sinistra giovanile" and "sg") as well as the inscription "Sinistra giovanile".
Marcus Schmöger, 2 August 2002

see also: <www.democraticidisinistra.it>


European Democracy (Democrazia Europea)


by Marcus Schmöger, 15 July 2002

Logo of DE ("Democrazia Europea"). No flag found. DE belongs to the right-center coalition House of the Liberties (Casa delle Libertà) led by prime minister Berlusconi.
Marcus Schmöger, 15 July 2002

DE ("Democrazia Europea" = European Democracy <www.democraziaeuropea.it>) - The DE is a small christian-democratic party, founded in 2000, under the leadership of Sergio d'Antoni (former leader of the CISL trade union) and Giulio Andreotti. For the 2001 elections it presented an own list, but failed at the 4%-hurdle (2,4% and 3,2% of the votes for the Camera and the Senato, respectively). It has recently joined the UDC coalition.
The logo shows on a blue background the name of the party (in white) and a white sail (?) with red cross, obviously an allusion to the old symbol of the "Democrazia Cristiana". The logo at <www.democraziaeuropea.it/images/logo.gif>. A variant of the logo at <cedweb.mininterno.it:8890>. At <www.democraziaeuropea.it/richiestadelsimbolo.asp> they mention "bandiere" (flags) as "materiale elettorale" (election material), so I guess they indeed have flags. This is further substantiated by a photo at <www.graffitipress.it> . However, this foto is not sufficient to draw a good image of the flag.
Marcus Schmöger, 7 August 2002


Federalist Greens (Verdi Federalisti)


by Marcus Schmöger, 7 August 2002

"Verdi Federalisti" (Federalist Greens <www.verdifederalisti.org>) - The "Verdi Federalisti" are one of the smaller ambientalist parties in Italy; they distinctly claim not to be "left" (like the "Federazione dei Verdi") nor "right" nor "center". The logo shows at the bottom the green inscription "VERDI Federalisti" on white; at the top on a yellow field a green semi-circle made up of sketches of human beings, alternately male and female, the whole semi-circle appearing like a sun made of human beings. Logo at <cedweb.mininterno.it:8890>. The flag obviously shows the logo on a green field. An animated image of the flag can be found at their homepage <www.verdifederalisti.org>.
Marcus Schmöger, 7 August 2002


Federation of the Greens (Federazione dei Verdi)


by Marcus Schmöger, 19 July 2002

Italian Green Party (Verdi) flag according to TV (RAI) article about demonstrations against use of depleted uranium bombs in strike against FRY, in front of NATO air force base in Aviano, Italy. Information about the party is at: <www.verdi.it>.
Ivan Sarajcic, 30 April 1999

The Verdi (Greens) use a green flag with their logo.
Marcus Schmöger, 19 July 2002

Verdi ("Federazione dei Verdi" = Federation of the Greens <www.verdi.it>) - The history of the Italian Green parties is a difficult one, as (similar to other countries) there have been several ecologist parties, that mainly differ in their more left-wing or more centrist political position. The main current, however, is represented by the current "Federazione dei Verdi". Coming together from several left-radical and radical-liberal fractions (for instance from the Partito Radicale), in 1986 the party was founded as "Verdi-Sole che ride" (Greens-Sun that smiles), recurring to the symbol of the party, the smiling sun. First elected to the parliament in 1987, they united with another group, the "Verdi-Arcobaleno" (Greens-Rainbow) in 1990. For the 1994 parliamentary elections they formed part of the left coalition "Progressisti", for the 1996 and 2001 elections part of the Ulivo coalition (center-left); in 2001 they had formed a loose coalition with the SDI under the name "Girasole" (Sunflower). The current leader is Grazia Francescato. Interestingly, the first Green mayor of a major city in the world was elected in Italy: Francesco Rutelli as mayor of Rome. A former member of the Partito Radicale (see 5.2.4) until 1989, he was mayor of Rome from 1993 to 2001; for the 2001 parliamentary elections he even became the leader of the center-left Ulivo coalition, but now as a member of the centrist Democratici (belonging to the Margherita subcoalition). In the Senato the Verdi are an own parliamentary group with 10 (out of 325) seats; in the Camera dei Deputati the seven (out of 630) deputies belong to the mixed group ("Misto"). The logo shows a yellow smiling sun ("La sole che ride") on a green field, underneath the inscription "Verdi". The flag is green with the logo in the center. Fotos of the flag at <www.verdi.it/stra12.jpg>, <stra3.jpg>, <laico1.jpg>, <laico5.jpg>, <laico4.jpg> and <bannerav.jpg>.
The youth organization of the Greens, the "Giovani Verdi" (Young Greens) have their own slightly different logo, but obviously no own flag. Logo at <www.verdi.it/gvsimb.gif>.
Marcus Schmöger, 31 July 2002


Federation of the Liberals (Federazione dei Liberali)


by Marcus Schmöger, 7 August 2002

F.d.L. ("Federazione dei Liberali" = Federation of the Liberals <www.luda.it/liberali>) - The F.d.L. is one of the parties coming from the old PLI. I haven't found a flag. The logo is described in the statute (Art 2.2):
"La FdL adotta il simbolo della bandiera tricolore rigida sormontata dalla scritta " Liberali " su fondo azzurro con, in caratteri dorati, le stelle dell'Unione Europea." (The FdL adopts the symbol of the rigid tricoloured flag surmounted by the inscription "Liberali" on a blue field, with the stars of the European Union in golden.)
see <www.luda.it/STATUTO.html>.
Image of the logo at <cedweb.mininterno.it:8890>.
Marcus Schmöger, 7 August 2002


Go, Italy! (Forza Italia)


by Marcus Schmöger, 16 August 2001

A right-of-centre party
G. Vacca, 22 September 1997

I located a variant of this flag at <www.racine.ra.it>.
Dov Gutterman. 9 January 1999

Forza Italia, the ruling party of Silvio Berlusconi. Image is using the following sources: <www.smev.de> and <www.forza-italia.it>.
Marcus Schmöger, 16 August 2001

FI ("Forza Italia" = Go, Italy <http://www.forza-italia.it>) - The FI has been founded for the 1994 elections as a new force on the center-right, instead of the already moribund Democrazia Cristiana. Founding-father and leader was and is Silvio Berlusconi, the current Italian prime minister (and by far most influential single person in the Italian television and other media). Originally a merger movement of the right center without the usual party organization, it has become a more or less normal party over the years, however largely focused on Berlusconi.
It currently holds 176 out of 630 seats in the Chamber of Deputies (Camera dei Deputati) and 81 seats out of 325 in the Senate (Senato). In the European Parliament the FI deputies belong to the European People's Party (Christian Democrats).
The logo shows the fluttering FI flag on a white circle; it can be found at <www.forza-italia.it/Fi.jpg> and <cedweb.mininterno.it:8890>.
The flag is diagonally divided green-white-red with the diagonal inscription (in white) "FORZA ITALIA". Fotos of the flag (with Berlusconi) at:
<www.forza-italia.it/foto15.html>, <foto19.html> and <foto21.html>.
Marcus Schmöger, 19 July 2002

Forza Italia Giovani (Go, Italy Juveniles)


by Marcus Schmöger, 23 July 2002

Flag of the "Forza Italia Giovani" (Go, Italy Juveniles), the Youth Organization of the Forza Italia. The flag shows on a white background the round logo of the Forza Italia, around it the black inscriptions "Giovani" (juveniles) and "Per la libertá" (for the freedom). Fotos of this flag in use can be found at <www.forzaitaliagiovani.it/archiviofoto012.jpg>, < 018.jpg>, <congressogiovani01.gif> and <copertina008z.jpg>.
Marcus Schmöger, 23 July 2002


House of the Liberties (Casa delle Libertá)


by Marcus Schmöger, 16 August 2001

For the recent elections the Forza Italia formed a coalition together with other right and center parties (including Alleanza Nazionale and Lega Nord). This coalition (Casa delle Liberta = House of the liberties) uses a logo. This logo is also used on a flag with blue field as can be seen at <www.smev.de>.
Marcus Schmöger, 16 August 2001

"Casa delle Libertà" (House of the liberties <www.casadelleliberta.net>) - For the 2001 elections this was founded as a center-right coalition of five parties/party groupings. These five parties/party groupings form five parliamentary groups accordingly (FI, AN, Lega Nord, UDC, NPSI). Under the leadership of FI leader Silvio Berlusconi as prime minister the "Casa delle Libertà" forms the current government coalition. The earlier version of this coalition (Polo della Libertá) (for the 1994 and 1996 elections) contained the FI, the AN, the CCD and the Lega Nord (in 1994, in 1996 it stayed apart).
According to the logos at thewebsite <www.casadelleliberta.net>, the CdL currently contains the following parties: FI, AN, Lega Nord, CCD, CDU, PDC, Nuovo PSI.
The logo of the CdL comes in several variants; the one used on flags can be found at: <www.forza-italia.it/Cdl.jpg> and <cedweb.mininterno.it:8890>. The flag is blue with the logo. However, this can only be rarely seen; I only have the one foto from the German news magazine "Der Spiegel" at <www.smev.de>.
Marcus Schmöger, 19 July 2002


Part III