Flag of San Marino

The national flag of San Marino has two equal horizontal bands, white on top and light blue below. In the middle of the flag is the national coat of arms.

This coat of arms shows a shield with three towers on three peaks.

The white color stands for peace, and the light blue represents liberty. People in San Marino sometimes use a simpler version of the flag without the coat of arms.

All the towns in San Marino have their own flags. They look much like the national flag, with the same white and blue bands. But they have a shield-like emblem in the center and the name of the town written vertically near the flagpole. The national ensign of San Marino looks just like the state flag.

History

The oldest known flag of San Marino was made on September 4, 1465. It was made in Florence and had three colors: gold, white, and a special blue called "alessandrino."

In 1797, San Marino's leaders chose a white and blue symbol, inspired by changes in France. This symbol looked like one used by French revolutionaries.

A rule from April 6, 1862 set the official design for the coat of arms, but it did not talk about the flag.

Proportions and colours

The official size of the flag of San Marino is in a ratio of 3 to 4. The coat of arms on the flag takes up a special part of this size.

Sometimes, a different size of 2 to 3 is used, especially for international use or special requests. In this case, the coat of arms moves a little.

The colours of the flag are set in a special way, which is shown in the following details.

Political flags

One political group in San Marino has its own flag. This is the flag of the Sammarinese Communist Party.

Municipalities ("Castelli")

Each town, or castello, in San Marino has its own special flag. This rule started on March 28, 1997. These flags show the town's symbol or coat of arms on top of San Marino's white and blue colors. The law says the town's name should be written in a special font on the left side, but many flags do not have the name written on them.