The flag of Tuscany is the official flag of the region of Tuscany, Italy. The flag depicts a silver Pegasus rampant on a white field between two horizontal red bands. The flag first appeared as a gonfalon on 20 May 1975 along with accompanying text Regione Toscana above the Pegasus. It was officially adopted as the flag of Tuscany on 3 February 1995.
History
The Pegasus image on the flag derives from a coin made by the Florentine artist Benvenuto Cellini in 1537. This coin was created by Cellini in order to honour Cardinal Pietro Bembo. Bembo was instrumental in the development of the Tuscan language as a literary medium and was honoured with the representation of Pegasus due to its symbolism and ties with creation. As a result, the Pegasus came to be associated as a symbol of the Tuscan region. The usage of Pegasus by the Tuscan region endured and was adopted by the Tuscan Committee of National Liberation as a symbol of Italian resistance in Tuscany to the German occupation of Italy during the Second World War. On 11 August 1975, the 26th anniversary of the liberation of Florence, the flag of the CTLN was symbolically handed over to the President of Tuscany, Lelio Lagorio by the mayor of Florence, Elio Gabbuggiani, in a ceremony at the Palazzo Vecchio.This demonstrated the symbolic adoption of the flag of Tuscany by the region. However, the flag was not officially recognised. The flag was officially adopted in 1995 following President Oscar Luigi Scalfaro's call for the flag of each Italian region to be represented in the Quirinale Palace. The usage of the Pegasus was favoured by the Tuscan Regional Council over a depiction of Leonardo da Vinci's Vitruvian Man, as this was considered unsuitable to be reproduced simply. The flag is often seen flying outside of Tuscan governmental buildings throughout the region. The seat of the Tuscan Regional Government, Palazzo Capponi-Covoni, is known as the Palazzo del Pegaso in reference to the flag. The flag also features on the sash used by the President of Tuscany to distinguish them from other members of the council.
Colours
The usage of the colours red and white to represent the Tuscan region can be dated back to at least the year 969 and the reign of Hugh, Margrave of Tuscany. He adopted a palleted shield of alternating red and white vertical stripes as his coat of arms. Prominent Tuscan family, the Guidi's, also adopted a coat of arms coloured in red and white between the 10th and 15th centuries. The Guidi coat of arms depicted a red and silver rampant lion decussated on a red and silver field. The colours also share a similarity to those of the flag of Austria which widely came to be used as a basis for Tuscan flags whilst Tuscany was ruled by the Austrian House of Habsburg-Lorraine between 1737 and 1848. Red and white may also have derived from the traditional usage of the colours in the symbolism of Tuscan towns. For example, the flags and coats of arms of Florence, Pisa, Lucca, Pistoia, Elba, and Grosseto all heavily feature the colours red and white.
