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The flag of Sicily ( scn, bannera dâ Sicilia; it, bandiera della Sicilia) shows a '' triskeles'' symbol (a figure of three legs arranged in rotational symmetry), and at its center a Gorgoneion (depiction of the head of Medusa) with a pair of wings and three wheat ears. In the original flag, the wheat ears did not exist and the colors were reversed. The original flag was created in 1282 during the rebellion of the Sicilian Vespers.


Description

The flag is characterized by the presence of the triskeles in its middle formed by the winged head of a woman (, goddess of fertility among the ancient Sicilian people), head topped with a knot of snakes and three wheat ears, from which three bent legs radiate, as if seized in mid-race, representing the extreme fertility of the land of Sicily. The triskelion symbol is said to represent the three capes (
headland A headland, also known as a head, is a coastal landform, a point of land usually high and often with a sheer drop, that extends into a body of water. It is a type of promontory. A headland of considerable size often is called a cape.Whittow, John ...
s or promontories of the island of Sicily), namely: Pelorus (Peloro, Tip of Faro, Messina: North-East); Pachynus (Passero, Syracuse: South); and Lilybæum (Lilibeo, Cape Boeo, Marsala: West), which form three points of a triangle from the historical three valli of the island. The flag is bisected diagonally into regions colored red, the color of
Palermo Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan ...
, and yellow, the color of
Corleone Corleone (; scn, Cunigghiuni or ) is an Italian town and ''comune'' of roughly 11,158 inhabitants in the Metropolitan City of Palermo, in Sicily. Several Mafia bosses have come from Corleone, including Tommy Gagliano, Gaetano Reina, Jack Dragn ...
. These are the two cities that started the revolution of the Sicilian Vespers. The flag was used during the medieval revolution of the Vespers.


History

The Triskeles-with- Gorgoneion symbol is found in antiquity, depicted on coins minted in Syracuse in the 4th century BC. The emblem was included in the design of the Army Gold Medal awarded to British Army majors and above who had taken a key part in the Battle of Maida (1806). It was used in combination with the
Italian tricolore The national flag of Italy ( it, Bandiera d'Italia, ), often referred to in Italian as ''il Tricolore'' ( en, the Tricolour, ) is a tricolour featuring three equally sized vertical pales of green, white and red, national colours of Italy, with th ...
in the
Sicilian revolution of 1848 The Sicilian revolution of independence of 1848 ( scn, Rivuluzzioni nnipinnintista siciliana dû 1848) occurred in a year replete with revolutions and popular revolts. It commenced on 12 January 1848, and therefore was the first of the numerous ...
. It was at this time referred to as "the sign of the Trinacria", Sicily being referred to by its ancient name, ''Trinacria'' ("having three headlands"). The name had been revived during the
Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and an, Aragón ; ca, Aragó ) is an autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces (from north to sou ...
ese period of the
Kingdom of Sicily The Kingdom of Sicily ( la, Regnum Siciliae; it, Regno di Sicilia; scn, Regnu di Sicilia) was a state that existed in the south of the Italian Peninsula and for a time the region of Ifriqiya from its founding by Roger II of Sicily in 1130 un ...
following the Vespers (1282). Apparently from this use, ''Trinacria'' came to be re-interpreted as a name for the symbol itself. The diagonal division in red and yellow goes back to 1943 when it was used by the separatist movement led by Andrea Finocchiaro Aprile. The addition of a pair of wings to the head of the Gorgon is modern (1848), the three ears of corn were added in the 1940s. A gonfalon combining the coats of arms of Norman Sicily, the Hohenstaufen emperors, and the Aragonese kingdom of Sicily with the triskeles emblem was adopted by the Sicilian Regional Assembly in 1990. The present design became the official public flag of the Autonomous Region of Sicily on 4 January 2000, after the passing of an apposite law which advocates its use on public buildings, schools, city halls, and all the other places in which Sicily is represented.


Kingdom of Sicily

The
Kingdom of Sicily The Kingdom of Sicily ( la, Regnum Siciliae; it, Regno di Sicilia; scn, Regnu di Sicilia) was a state that existed in the south of the Italian Peninsula and for a time the region of Ifriqiya from its founding by Roger II of Sicily in 1130 un ...
was a state that existed in the south of the Italian peninsula and for a time the region of Ifriqiya from its founding by Roger II of Sicily in 1130 until 1816. It was a successor state of the County of Sicily, which had been founded in 1071 during the Norman conquest of the southern peninsula.


First flag

Manfred, King of Sicily, crowned King of Sicily in 1258, changed the field of the coat of arms of Hohenstaufen family from gold to silver. In 1266 Manfred was killed in the Battle of Benevento, and Sicily was occupied by the
French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
under the command of Charles of Anjou. The banner was lowered, but the black eagle from
Swabia Swabia ; german: Schwaben , colloquially ''Schwabenland'' or ''Ländle''; archaic English also Suabia or Svebia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany. The name is ultimately derived from the medieval Duchy of ...
on a white background appeared on Sicilian flags for centuries.


Second flag

Charles I used the standard of the
House of Anjou Angevin or House of Anjou may refer to: * County of Anjou or Duchy of Anjou, a historical county, and later Duchy, in France ** Angevin (language), the traditional langue d'oïl spoken in Anjou ** Counts and Dukes of Anjou *House of Ingelger, a Fra ...
. The Angevins lost power on the island after the revolt of the Sicilian Vespers in 1282. Thereafter the old Kingdom of Sicily was centered on the mainland, with its capital at Naples, and although informally called '
Kingdom of Naples The Kingdom of Naples ( la, Regnum Neapolitanum; it, Regno di Napoli; nap, Regno 'e Napule), also known as the Kingdom of Sicily, was a state that ruled the part of the Italian Peninsula south of the Papal States between 1282 and 1816. It was ...
' it was still known formally as 'Kingdom of Sicily'. Thus, there were two "Sicilies" — the island kingdom, however, was often called "Sicily beyond the Lighthouse" or "Trinacria", by terms of a treaty between the two states.


Third flag

The next king of Sicily island was
Peter III of Aragon Peter III of Aragon ( November 1285) was King of Aragon, King of Valencia (as ), and Count of Barcelona (as ) from 1276 to his death. At the invitation of some rebels, he conquered the Kingdom of Sicily and became King of Sicily in 1282, pres ...
of the House of Barcelona. Since Peter III was Manfred's son-in-law, he restored the coat of arms with the black eagle and added four red stripes on a yellow background from his own coat of arms. Until 1296, the coat of arms and the banner derived from it were usually quartered.


Fourth flag

In 1296, the quartering of the Swabian and Aragonese arms was changed to the
Saint Andrew's cross Saint Andrew's Cross or Andrew Cross may refer to: * The x-shaped cross on which Saint Andrew is said to have been martyred by crucifixion * Saltire, a heraldic symbol in the form of a diagonal cross, including a gallery of flags ** Flag of Sc ...
, with stripes at the top and bottom, and with eagles on the right and left. The function of the flag also changed gradually: initially it was a banner of war later it became a flag raised by Sicilian merchant ships. Perhaps by mistake, due to its rather complicated design, this flag was often depicted with shoulder positions swapped (eagles up and down and stripes right and left).


Fifth flag

In the 17th century, the design was significantly simplified: the white fabric was crossed by four horizontal stripes alternating red and yellow, above and below two small black eagles (in a more modern style). The flag probably survived until 1800 - or at least no later than October 2, 1817, when the Sicilian flags were abolished - though it continued to appear on the cards for many years. The logo of the separatist party "
Free Sicilians Free Sicilians ( it, Siciliani Liberi; scn, Siciliani Libbiri; SL) is a Sicilian nationalist and pro-independence political party. The party was founded in 2016 in order to revive the island's right to self-government. History Free Sicilians w ...
" alludes to this flag.


Royal Sicilian Regiment

The
Royal Sicilian Regiment The Sicilian Regiment (also known as The Royal Sicilian Regiment of Foot) was a light infantry regiment recruited from Sicily that served with the British Army during the Napoleonic wars, from 1806 to its disbandment in 1816. The Detachment of Ro ...
was a
light infantry Light infantry refers to certain types of lightly equipped infantry throughout history. They have a more mobile or fluid function than other types of infantry, such as heavy infantry or line infantry. Historically, light infantry often fought ...
regiment recruited from Sicily that served with the British Army during the Napoleonic wars, from 1806 to its disbandment in 1816.


Modern


Sicilian revolution

On 27 May 1848,
Trinacria Trinacria may refer to: *the ancient Name of Sicily **Sicily in the classical Greek period, see History of Greek and Hellenistic Sicily **Name for the Kingdom of Sicily during the 1300s **Name for the emblem of Sicily (the triskeles with the Go ...
, a symbol of freedom in the pre-Roman period and during the uprising of Vespers, was placed at the center of the Italian tricolor and was adopted by the Sicilian Parliament as the symbolic flag of the island.


Separatist movement

After Operation Husky Sicilian separatists created two organizations: party
MIS MIS or mis may refer to: Science and technology * Management information system * Marine isotope stage, stages of the Earth's climate * Maximal independent set, in graph theory * Metal-insulator-semiconductor, e.g., in MIS capacitor * Minimally in ...
and paramilitary Voluntary Army for the Independence of Sicily it.


=Vespro flag

= The first MIS flag closely resembled the current flag of Sicily, although it had many variants. MIS stopped using it around 1946, but the flag did not disappear.


=EVIS flag

= EVIS flag consists of
Senyera The Senyera (; meaning "pennon", "standard", "banner", "ensign", or, more generically, "flag" in Catalan language, Catalan) is a vexillological symbol based on the coat of arms of the Crown of Aragon, which consists of four red stripes on a yel ...
and the blue canton with Trinacria. The flag symbolized the group's very pro-American position. When the EVIS disappeared after the war, the flag was taken over by MIS, which strengthened the separatist symbolism.


Region of Sicily

Sicily adopted its first official flag in 1995. The difference from the current flag was that there was a coat of arms instead of a Trinacria. The coat of arms consisted of four fields: 1 Hauteville family, 2 Manfred's eagle, 3 Trinacria, and 4 Red Bars. The flag changed in 2000 to the current design.


References

*
History of the Sicilian flag ''La Bandier della Sicilia: La Trinacria''


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sicily, Flag of Flags of regions of Italy
Flag A flag is a piece of fabric (most often rectangular or quadrilateral) with a distinctive design and colours. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design empl ...
Cultural depictions of Medusa Flags introduced in 2000 Flags of indigenous peoples