The ''Stella d'Italia'' ("Star of Italy"), popularly known as ''Stellone d'Italia'' ("Great Star of Italy"), is a five-pointed white star, which has symbolized

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

for many centuries. It is the oldest national symbol of Italy, since it dates back to

Graeco-Roman The Greco-Roman world , also Greco-Roman civilization, Greco-Roman culture or Greco-Latin culture (spelled Græco-Roman or Graeco-Roman in British English), as understood by modern scholars and writers, includes the geographical regions and co ...

mythology when

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is often called Earth's "twin" or "sister" planet for having almost the same size and mass, and the closest orbit to Earth's. While both are rocky planets, Venus has an atmosphere much thicker ...

, associated with the West as an evening star, was adopted to identify the Italian peninsula. From an allegorical point of view, the ''Stella d'Italia''

metaphor A metaphor is a figure of speech that, for rhetorical effect, directly refers to one thing by mentioning another. It may provide, or obscure, clarity or identify hidden similarities between two different ideas. Metaphors are usually meant to cr ...

ically represents the shining destiny of Italy. In the early 16th century it began to be frequently associated with ''

Italia turrita ''Italia turrita'' (; ) is the national personification or allegory of Italy, in the appearance of a young woman with her head surrounded by a mural crown completed by towers (hence ''turrita'' or "with towers" in Italian). It is often accompa ...

'', the

national personification A national personification is an anthropomorphic personification of a state or the people(s) it inhabits. It may appear in political cartoons and propaganda. In the first personifications in the Western World, warrior deities or figures symboliz ...

of the Italian peninsula. The ''Stella d'Italia'' was adopted as part of the

emblem of Italy The emblem of the Italian Republic () was formally adopted by the newly formed Italian Republic on 5 May 1948. Although often referred to as a coat of arms (or in Italian), it is an emblem as it was not designed to conform to traditional hera ...

in 1947, where it is superimposed on a steel

cogwheel A gear or gearwheel is a rotating machine part typically used to transmit rotational motion and/or torque by means of a series of teeth that engage with compatible teeth of another gear or other part. The teeth can be integral saliences or ...

, all surrounded by an

oak An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...

branch and an

olive The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'' ("European olive"), is a species of Subtropics, subtropical evergreen tree in the Family (biology), family Oleaceae. Originating in Anatolia, Asia Minor, it is abundant throughout the Mediterranean ...

branch.

Symbolic value

From an

allegorical As a literary device or artistic form, an allegory is a narrative or visual representation in which a character, place, or event can be interpreted to represent a meaning with moral or political significance. Authors have used allegory throughou ...

point of view, the Star of Italy metaphorically represents the shining destiny of Italy. Its unifying value is equal to that of the

flag of Italy The flag of Italy (, ), often referred to as The Tricolour (, ), is a flag featuring three equally sized vertical Pale (heraldry), pales of green, white and red, with the green at the hoist side, as defined by Article 12 of the Constitution of t ...

. In 1947, the ''Stella d'Italia'' was inserted at the center of the

, which was designed by Paolo Paschetto and which is the iconic symbol identifying the Italian State. The Italian Star is also recalled by some honors. The Italian Star is recalled by the

Colonial Order of the Star of Italy The Colonial Order of the Star of Italy ( ) was founded as a colonial order of chivalry on 18 June 1914 by Italian King Victor Emmanuel III, to reward soldiers deployed to the colony of Libya. The order had fallen into abeyance by 1943, when Al ...

, decoration of the

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy (, ) was a unitary state that existed from 17 March 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 10 June 1946, when the monarchy wa ...

which was intended to celebrate the

Italian Empire The Italian colonial empire (), also known as the Italian Empire (''Impero italiano'') between 1936 and 1941, was founded in Africa in the 19th century. It comprised the colonies, protectorates, concession (territory), concessions and depende ...

, as well as by the

Order of the Star of Italian Solidarity The Order of the Star of Italian Solidarity ( ) was founded as a national order by the first President of the Italian Republic, Enrico De Nicola, in 1947, to recognise civilian and military expatriates or foreigners who made an outstanding co ...

, the first decoration established by Republican Italy, which was replaced in 2011 by the Order of the Star of Italy, second civil honorary title in importance of the Italian State. The Star of Italy is also recalled by the stars worn on the collars of Italian military uniforms and appears on the

figurehead In politics, a figurehead is a practice of who ''de jure'' (in name or by law) appears to hold an important and often supremely powerful title or office, yet '' de facto'' (in reality) exercises little to no actual power. This usually means that ...

of the

Italian Navy The Italian Navy (; abbreviated as MM) is one of the four branches of Italian Armed Forces and was formed in 1946 from what remained of the ''Regia Marina'' (Royal Navy) after World War II. , the Italian Navy had a strength of 30,923 active per ...

. In the civil sphere, the Italian Star is the central symbol of the emblem of the

Club Alpino Italiano The Club Alpino Italiano is the senior Italian alpine club which stages climbing competitions, operates alpine huts, marks and maintains paths, and is active in protecting the Alpine environment. It was founded in Turin in 1863 by the then fin ...

History

From ancient Greece to the Roman era

The symbolism of a star associated with Italy first appeared in the writings of the ancient Greek poet Stesicoro, from whom it passed on to poets such as

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; 15 October 70 BC21 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Rome, ancient Roman poet of the Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Augustan period. He composed three of the most fa ...

. The oldest national symbol of Italy, it originated from the combination of

, as an evening star, with the West and therefore with the Italian peninsula, one of which was ''Esperia'', or "land of Hesperus, the star of the Evening consecrated to Venus". This symbolism was already attested in archaic Greek literature, in 6th century BC by the poet

Stesichorus Stesichorus (; , ''Stēsichoros''; c. 630 – 555 BC) was a Greek Greek lyric, lyric poet native of Metauros (Gioia Tauro today). He is best known for telling epic stories in lyric metres, and for some ancient traditions about his life, such as hi ...

, in the poem ''Iliupersis (Fall of Troy)'' that created the legend of

Aeneas In Greco-Roman mythology, Aeneas ( , ; from ) was a Troy, Trojan hero, the son of the Trojan prince Anchises and the Greek goddess Aphrodite (equivalent to the Roman Venus (mythology), Venus). His father was a first cousin of King Priam of Troy ...

which described his return to the land of his ancestors (Italy) after the defeat of

Troy Troy (/; ; ) or Ilion (; ) was an ancient city located in present-day Hisarlik, Turkey. It is best known as the setting for the Greek mythology, Greek myth of the Trojan War. The archaeological site is open to the public as a tourist destina ...

, under the leadership of Venus. The story of Aeneas' journey to the Italian coast from the maternal star of Venus is then resumed in

Roman times In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman civilisation from the founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingd ...

Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/24 79), known in English as Pliny the Elder ( ), was a Roman Empire, Roman author, Natural history, naturalist, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the Roman emperor, emperor Vesp ...

, by

Marcus Terentius Varro Marcus Terentius Varro (116–27 BCE) was a Roman polymath and a prolific author. He is regarded as ancient Rome's greatest scholar, and was described by Petrarch as "the third great light of Rome" (after Virgil and Cicero). He is sometimes call ...

and by

, giving rise to a double tradition: the political tradition of ''Caesaris Astrum'', the star of

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in Caesar's civil wa ...

that had originated from the appearance of a comet star shortly after his death and which was also recalled by

Augustus Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...

as an auspicious sign and as a prefiguration of the ''

Pax Romana The (Latin for ) is a roughly 200-year-long period of Roman history that is identified as a golden age of increased and sustained Roman imperialism, relative peace and order, prosperous stability, hegemonic power, and regional expansion, a ...

'', and the toponymy and literary tradition of Greek origin of

called ''Esperia'', the "land on which the evening star sets" that is Venus. The merger of the two traditions associated the star with Italy, the center of the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

and never considered a province, having a special administrative status, being divided into the Augustan regions. The first association between the star (the ''Stella Veneris'') and the

mural crown A mural crown () is a Crown (headgear), crown or headpiece representing city walls, fortified tower, towers, or fortresses. In classical antiquity, it was an emblem of tutelary deities who watched over a city, and among the ancient Rome, Romans ...

(the ''Corona muralis'') of

, from which the so-called ''Italia turrita e stellata'', is also from the Roman era and dates back to the time of Augustus.

From the Middle Ages to the unification of Italy

After a period of disuse in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

, the Star of Italy was rediscovered during the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

. The symbolic meaning of Caesar's star as the precious tricolor star-shaped jewel, studded with green

emerald Emerald is a gemstone and a variety of the mineral beryl (Be3Al2(SiO3)6) colored green by trace amounts of chromium or sometimes vanadium.Hurlbut, Cornelius S. Jr., and Kammerling, Robert C. (1991). ''Gemology'', John Wiley & Sons, New York ...

s, white

pearl A pearl is a hard, glistening object produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle (mollusc), mantle) of a living Exoskeleton, shelled mollusk or another animal, such as fossil conulariids. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pear ...

s and red

rubies Ruby is a pinkish-red-to-blood-red-colored gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum (aluminium oxide). Ruby is one of the most popular traditional jewelry gems and is very durable. Other varieties of gem-quality corundum are called sapphi ...

, preserved at the

Castelvecchio Museum Castelvecchio Museum (Italian: Museo Civico di Castelvecchio) is a museum in Verona, northern Italy, located in the eponymous medieval castle. Restoration by the architect Carlo Scarpa between 1959 and 1973 has enhanced the appearance of the ...

Verona Verona ( ; ; or ) is a city on the Adige, River Adige in Veneto, Italy, with 255,131 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region, and is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and in Northeast Italy, nor ...

, dates back to the 14th century, is therefore still uncertain. One meaning could be that it was built for the condottiere

Cangrande I della Scala Cangrande (christened Can Francesco) della Scala (9 March 1291 – 22 July 1329) was an Italian nobleman, belonging to the della Scala family that ruled Verona from 1308 until 1387. He was indeed one of the most important characters at the time ...

, lord of Verona in which

Dante Alighieri Dante Alighieri (; most likely baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri; – September 14, 1321), widely known mononymously as Dante, was an Italian Italian poetry, poet, writer, and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called ...

saw the new Caesar capable of unifying Italy. However, the star may also refer to

Sirius Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky. Its name is derived from the Greek word (Latin script: ), meaning 'glowing' or 'scorching'. The star is designated Canis Majoris, Latinized to Alpha Canis Majoris, and abbr ...

, with the green, white and red colors associated with the three

theological virtues Theological virtues are virtues associated in Christian theology and philosophy with salvation resulting from the grace of God. Virtues are traits or qualities which dispose one to conduct oneself in a morally good manner. Traditionally the theolo ...

. In 1603, in the second edition of his treatise ''Iconologia'',

Cesare Ripa Cesare Ripa (, Perugia – Rome) was an Italian Renaissance scholar and iconography, iconographer. Life Little is known about his life. The scant biographical information that exists derives from his one very successful work: the ''Iconologia ...

associated the symbol with the

, and created a modern version of Italy's allegorical personification: a woman with a star on top of a towered crown, therefore supplied with the ''Corona muralis'' and the ''Stella Veneris''. Ripa's treatise inspired many artists like Canova, Bisson, Maccari, Balla, Sironi, until the 1920s. The allegorical image of the towered and star-topped Italy became popular during the

unification of Italy The unification of Italy ( ), also known as the Risorgimento (; ), was the 19th century Political movement, political and social movement that in 1861 ended in the Proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, annexation of List of historic states of ...

, spreading through a large iconography of statues, friezes and decorative objects, tourist-guide covers, postcards, prints and magazines' illustrations. During the unification of Italy, evoking Aeneas' journey toward the Italian coasts, patriot

Giuseppe Mazzini Giuseppe Mazzini (, ; ; 22 June 1805 – 10 March 1872) was an Italian politician, journalist, and activist for the unification of Italy (Risorgimento) and spearhead of the Italian revolutionary movement. His efforts helped bring about the ...

mentioned again the national star's myth that afterwards was recovered by Cavour and the new Savoyard kings of Italy. The reigning house even tried to get possession of it, suggesting that it was the ''Stella Sabauda'' ("Savoys' star"), a family heraldic pattern that is not mentioned in any historical document preceding the unification of Italy.

From the unification of Italy to republican Italy

After the unification of Italy, the presence of enormous symbolic stars on the honor stage of the official ceremonies in which King

Victor Emmanuel II of Italy Victor Emmanuel II (; full name: ''Vittorio Emanuele Maria Alberto Eugenio Ferdinando Tommaso di House of Savoy, Savoia''; 14 March 1820 – 9 January 1878) was King of Sardinia (also informally known as Piedmont–Sardinia) from 23 March 1849 u ...

participated led the Italians more and more to define it, in an affective way, as the "star" that protects Italy. On the Italian metallic coinage the ''Stella d'Italia'' is present on all copper emissions already from 1861 until 1907, as well as on all the coins of King

Umberto I of Italy Umberto I (; 14 March 1844 – 29 July 1900) was King of Italy from 9 January 1878 until his assassination in 1900. His reign saw Italy's expansion into the Horn of Africa, as well as the creation of the Triple Alliance (1882), Triple Alliance a ...

. The ''Stella d'Italia'' is also recalled by the coat of arms of the

used from 1870 to 1890. In 1871, due to the royal decree n. 571 of December 13, 1871 signed by the minister Cesare Ricotti-Magnani, the ''Stella d'Italia'' became one of the distinctive signs of the

Italian Armed Forces The Italian Armed Forces (, ) encompass the Italian Army, the Italian Navy and the Italian Air Force. A fourth Military branch, branch of the armed forces, known as the Carabinieri, take on the role as the nation's Gendarmerie, military police an ...

, the so-called "stars". The ''Stella d'Italia'' is also mentioned in the patriotic music piece ''Tripoli bel suol d'amore'', which was written in 1911 just before the start of the

Italo-Turkish War The Italo-Turkish (, "Tripolitanian War", , "War of Libya"), also known as the Turco-Italian War, was fought between the Kingdom of Italy and the Ottoman Empire from 29 September 1911 to 18 October 1912. As a result of this conflict, Italy captur ...

, a military campaign forming part of the Italian colonial wars to propagate the imminent war of the Kingdom of Italy against the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

aimed at the conquest of

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

. The ''Stella d'Italia'' was one of the symbols of the journey by train on the

Aquileia Aquileia is an ancient Roman city in Italy, at the head of the Adriatic at the edge of the lagoons, about from the sea, on the river Natiso (modern Natisone), the course of which has changed somewhat since Roman times. Today, the city is small ( ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

line towards the capital of Italy of the body of the Italian Unknown Soldier. The coffin was placed on a

gun carriage A gun carriage is a frame or a mount that supports the gun barrel of an artillery piece, allowing it to be maneuvered and fired. These platforms often had wheels so that the artillery pieces could be moved more easily. Gun carriages are also use ...

and placed on a

goods wagon Goods wagons or freight wagons (North America: freight cars), also known as goods carriages, goods trucks, freight carriages or freight trucks, are unpowered railway vehicles that are used for the transportation of cargo. A variety of wagon types ...

designed for the occasion by Guido Cirilli. The ceremony had its epilogue in Rome with the solemn burial at the

Altare della Patria The Victor Emmanuel II National Monument (), also known as the Vittoriano or for synecdoche Altare della Patria ("Altar of the Fatherland"), is a large national monument built between 1885 and 1935 to honour Victor Emmanuel II, the first king ...

on 4 November 1921 on the occasion of

National Unity and Armed Forces Day National Unity and Armed Forces Day () is an Public holidays in Italy, Italian national day since 1919 which commemorates the victory in World War I, a war event considered the completion of the process of unification of Italy. It is celebrated e ...

. A bronze ''Stella d'Italia'' was placed on one of the two locomotives that pulled the railway hearse, while a second one was represented on the main building of the

Roma Tiburtina railway station Roma Tiburtina is the second largest railway station in Rome, after Roma Termini. Located in the north-eastern part of the city, it was originally constructed during the 1860s as a terminal station, and redeveloped during the 2010's. The station ...

, which received the convoy in the final destination and which was known at the time as "Portonaccio station". The protective or providential meaning of the star was then adopted by

Italian Fascism Italian fascism (), also called classical fascism and Fascism, is the original fascist ideology, which Giovanni Gentile and Benito Mussolini developed in Italy. The ideology of Italian fascism is associated with a series of political parties le ...

and the

Italian resistance movement The Italian Resistance ( ), or simply ''La'' , consisted of all the Italian resistance groups who fought the occupying forces of Nazi Germany and the fascist collaborationists of the Italian Social Republic during the Second World War in Italy ...

, which placed it on the flag of the

National Liberation Committee The National Liberation Committee (, CLN) was a political umbrella organization and the main representative of the Italian resistance movement fighting against the occupying forces of Nazi Germany and the fascist collaborationist forces of the ...

, as well as by the republicans and the monarchists on the occasion of the institutional referendum of 2 June 1946, which took place according to the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. In 1947, the ''Stella d'Italia'' was included in the center of the official

Emblem of Italy The emblem of the Italian Republic () was formally adopted by the newly formed Italian Republic on 5 May 1948. Although often referred to as a coat of arms (or in Italian), it is an emblem as it was not designed to conform to traditional hera ...

, drawn by the designer Paolo Paschetto. From an allegorical point of view, the ''Stella d'Italia'' metaphorically represents the shining destiny of Italy.

Gallery

Citations

General and cited references

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Stella d'Italia National symbols of Italy Heraldic charges Star symbols