The flag of Vatican City was adopted on 7 June 1929, the year Pope Pius XI signed the Lateran Treaty with Italy, creating a new independent state governed by the Holy See. The Vatican City flag is modeled on the 1808 yellow and white flag of the earlier Papal States, to which a papal tiara and keys were later added. The Vatican (and the Holy See) also refers to it, interchangeably, as the flag of the Holy See.[1]
Description
The flag consists of two vertical bands, one of gold or yellow (hoist side) and one of white with the crossed keys of Saint Peter and the Papal Tiara centered in the white band. The crossed keys consist of a golden and a silver key, in which the silver key is placed in the dexter position.[citation needed]
The flag is displayed in many Catholic churches and institutions worldwide, often alongside the national flag of where the church or institution is located.
A Police Scotland list of flags which could be a criminal offence to display "in a threatening manner" included the Vatican flag; sectarianism is common in Scotland, especially in Glasgow, and the Vatican flag could supposedly be flown as a sign of Catholic identity to intimidate Protestant neighbours.[8][9][10]
In 1808 Pope Pius VII ordered the Vatican's Noble Guard and other troops to replace red color with white, in order to distinguish them from the troops that had been incorporated into Napoleon's army.[11]
In 1803, the Papal States started using a white merchant flag with the Papal coat of arms in the centre. This flag was made official on 7 June 1815. On 17 September 1825, it was replaced with a yellow and white flag which took its colours from the materials of the key (yellow for gold, white for silver).[12] These colors were probably taken from the 1808 flag of the Palatine guard.[12] This was the first bicolour used by the Papal States and the ancestor of the modern flag of Vatican City.[13] The merchant flag also served as a state flag on land.[12]
Starting in 1831, the papal infantry flew square yellow and white flags. At first, they were diagonally divided, but after 1849 they were vertically divided like the merchant flag. The last infantry colour, adopted in 1862, was a plain square white and yellow flag.[13]
On 8 February 1849, while Pope Pius IX was in exile in Gaeta, a Roman Republic was declared. The new government's flag was the Italian tricolor with the motto "Dio e Popolo" on the central stripe. The papal government and its flags were restored on 2 July 1849. On 20 September 1870, the Papal States were conquered by Italy and the yellow and white flags fell out of official use.
After the Lateran Treaty was signed in 1929, papal authorities decided to use the 1825 merchant flag as the state flag of the soon to be independent Vatican City state. However, the official drawing in the constitution used a drawing of the square 1862 infantry flag as a template. The treaty came into effect on 7 June 1929, and with it the newly-square Vatican flag.[14]
Criticism
It can be difficult for the eye to distinguish between the two bands of gold and white of the flag.[15] Armorist Bruno Heim criticised the flag for placing silver keys on a white field, and suggested a new yellow-and-white flag with the papal arms on a red shield in the centre.[16]
An incorrect version of the flag has become widespread. In this version, the visible underside of the papal tiara is colored red instead of white, and the shade of yellow on some portions of the coat of arms is wrong. This version has become widespread due to this version of the flag being hosted by Wikimedia Commons between 2006–2007 and 2017–2022. The issue likely stems from the fact that the coat of arms of the Vatican City does have this section colored red.[17]
The incorrect version is also used as the flag emoji of the Vatican City.[17]
^"Bandiera pontificia" (in Italian). Stato della cità del Vaticano. Archived from the original on 2008-10-15. Retrieved 2008-07-09. Anticamente la bandiera dello Stato pontificio era giallorossa (o per meglio dire amaranto e rossa, colori derivati dai colori dello stemma della Santa Sede), i due colori tradizionali del Senato e del Popolo romano, che vennero tuttavia sostituiti con il bianco e il giallo nel 1808, allorché Pio VII
^ abcBreschi, Roberto. "Stato Pontifico" (in Italian). Retrieved 9 February 2014.
^Becker, Rev. Dr. William M. (Jan–Mar 2012). "The Vatican Flag: Proportions & Alternatives"(PDF). NAVA News. Trenton, New Jersey: North American Vexillological Association. Archived from the original(PDF) on 6 June 2021. Retrieved 9 February 2014.
