Vatican City

Vatican City State/Holy See
Adopted	June 7, 1929
Proportions	1:1

The flag of Vatican City and the Holy See is a square flag with an equal vertical bicolor design of yellow and white. In the center of the white stripe is a stylized version of the emblem in the national coat of arms. It is one of only two square sovereign-state flags, the other being the flag of Switzerland.

Symbolism

The yellow and white are colors of the Papal States, and the coat of arms represents the nation of Vatican City. The yellow and white are taken from the keys of St. Peter, a Catholic symbol.

Regulations

Current regulations

The flag is described in Article 23 of the 2023 Fundamental Law of Vatican City State, with a visual model appended as Attachment A.

Previous

The flag is described in Article 19 of the 1929 Fundamental Law of Vatican City State, with a visual model appended as Attachment A.

The flag is also described in Article 20 of the 2000 Fundamental Law of Vatican City State, with a visual model appended as Attachment A. The 2000 Fundamental Law of Vatican City State's Attachment A, shows a square flag.

In 2010, the Apostolic Nunciature to Germany stated that the flag does not have to be square.

History

Before 1808, the Papal States commonly used a bicolor, yellow-red flag, which was derived from the colors of the Holy See's coat of arms, as well as being the two traditional colors of the Senate and the Roman people. In 1798, Napoleon established the Roman Republic, which introduced a black, white, and red flag; after the Papal rule was restored, Pope Pius VII restored the Papal cockade, which was described as red and yellow.

In 1808, Pope Pius VII ordered the Vatican's Noble Guard and other troops to replace the red color with white, in order to distinguish them from the troops that had been incorporated into Napoleon's army.

In 1803, the Papal States started using a white merchant flag with the Papal coat of arms in the center. This flag was made official on June 7, 1815. On September 17, 1825, it was replaced with a yellow and white flag which took its colors from the materials of the two keys (yellow for gold, white for silver). These colors were probably taken from the 1808 flag of the Palatine guard. This was the first bicolor used by the Papal States and the ancestor of the modern flag of Vatican City. The merchant flag also served as a state flag on land.

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 color, adopted in 1862, was a plain square white and yellow flag.

On February 8, 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 July 2, 1849. On September 20, 1870, the Papal States were conquered by Italy.

After the Lateran Treaty was signed in 1929, papal authorities decided to use the 1825–1870 merchant flag as the state flag of the soon to be independent Vatican City state. The treaty came into effect on June 7, 1929.

Historical flags

Papal States
(before 1808)

Roman Republic
(1798-1799)

Papal States
(1803-1825)

Papal States
(1825-1849)

Roman Republic
(1849)

Papal States
(1849-1870)

Papal States
(1862-1870)

Flag of the Papal States that flew over Porta Pia during the fall of Rome in 1870

Vatican City
(1929-2001)

Vatican City
(2001-2023)

Vatican City
(2023-present)

Incorrect version

An incorrect version of the flag has been commonly used. In this version, the visible inner lining of the papal tiara is colored red instead of white, and a different shade of yellow or gold is used in some portions of the coat of arms. This version has been said to be due to a depiction of the Vatican flag used on Wikimedia Commons between 2006 and 2007 and between 2017 and 2022, widespread on the Internet, but it predates Commons.

Trivia

• The Vatican flag is one of only two national flags on a square-shaped design. The other is the flag of Switzerland.