The flag of Vatican City
Bandiera della Città del Vaticano · since 1929
Back to Vatican CityA square flag divided vertically, yellow at the hoist and white at the fly, with the crossed keys of Saint Peter under the papal tiara on the white. It is the yellow and white merchant flag of the Papal States from 1825, made the flag of the new Vatican City State in 1929, and drawn afresh in the Fundamental Law of 2023. With Switzerland's it is one of two square national flags.
At a glance
- Adopted
- 2023
- Proportion
- 1:1
- First hoisted
- 1929
- Colours
- Earlier flags
- 5
The colours
The colours of the flag of Vatican City, in the order it has them
- 0154%
Yellow
gialloHoist field
- HEX
#FFF200- RGB
255 242 0- CMYK
0 10 95 0- Pantone
116 C- RAL
1026
- 0246%
White
biancoFly field
- HEX
#FFFFFF- RGB
255 255 255- CMYK
0 0 0 0
No law gives these codes. HEX and RGB are the colour this site draws the flag in; CMYK, Pantone and RAL are the values most often published for it.
Construction
How the flag is drawn
A square divided vertically into two equal fields, yellow at the hoist and white at the fly, with the crossed keys of Saint Peter, one gold and one silver, under the papal tiara in the centre of the white field.
- Fields
- Two, divided vertically, yellow at the hoist
- Emblem
- The tiara and keys centred on the white field, drawn to the model in Annex A of the Fundamental Law
- Tiara lining
- White. A widely copied version colours it red, which is incorrect
Other forms
- 2:3 flag
- Flags flown inside Vatican City are usually rectangular rather than square. The 1:1 flag is the only official one.
Meaning
What each part stands for
- Yellow and white
- Gold and silver, the metals of the two keys. Heraldry does not normally set two metals side by side, and an exception is made because they stand for the keys
- Crossed keys
- The keys of Saint Peter, their wards cut in the shape of a cross
- Tiara
- The papal triple crown, three crowns one above the other, with the two lappets that fall to the pope's shoulders
History
How the flag of Vatican City got here
- Undated
Red and yellow
Undated → 1808
Before 1808 the Papal States commonly used a red and yellow bicolour, from the colours of the arms of the Holy See and of the Senate and people of Rome.
- 1803
The white merchant flag
1803 → 17 Sept 1825
A white flag with the papal arms in the centre, official from 7 June 1815. In 1808 Pius VII had ordered his troops to replace red with white, to set them apart from troops taken into Napoleon's army.
Image: Tibetan Pop Rocks, CC BY-SA 3.0
- 1825
Yellow and white
17 Sept 1825 → 20 Sept 1870
The first bicolour of the Papal States, its colours taken from the metals of the keys. The infantry carried square yellow and white flags from 1831, plain in the colour of 1862. Interrupted in 1849 by the Roman Republic, and out of use after Italy took Rome on 20 September 1870.
Image: Tibetan Pop Rocks, CC BY-SA 3.0
- 1929
Vatican City State
7 Jun 1929 → 2001
After the Lateran Treaty the 1825 merchant flag was chosen for the new state, drawn square after the infantry colour of 1862. It came into force with the treaty on 7 June 1929.
Image: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 4.0
- 2001
The 2001 drawing
2001 → 7 Jun 2023
The flag under the Fundamental Law of 2000.
- 2023
The 2023 drawingIn use
7 Jun 2023 → today
The Fundamental Law of 13 May 2023 redrew the emblem, close to the model in the 1929 law.
The law
What defines it, and who flies it
- 7 June 1929
Fundamental Law of Vatican City State, Article 19
Described the flag, with a model in Annex A drawn from the square infantry colour of 1862.
- 2000
Fundamental Law of Vatican City State, Article 20
Repeated the description, with a square flag in Annex A.
- 13 May 2023
Fundamental Law of Vatican City State, Article 23
Two fields divided vertically, one yellow at the hoist and the other white, the white carrying the tiara with the keys, according to the model in Annex A.
In use
Also a symbol of the Catholic faith, often flown at Catholic churches
Flown at the United Nations headquarters among the flags of observer states since 25 September 2015
Protected in Italy as the flag of a foreign state under Article 299 of the Penal Code
Related flags
The flags it is confused with or comes from
Switzerland- The only other square national flag.
Coat of arms
The arms of Vatican City
