The Italian national flag was first adopted in Reggio Emilia on 7 January 1797. On that day, representatives of the cities of Reggio Emilia, Modena, Bologna and Ferrara proclaimed the green, white, and red Tricolour to be the banner of the Cispadane Republic.
The historic event took place in the Municipal Palace, specifically in a large hall built between 1772 and 1787, according to a design by Lodovico Bolognini, to host the general archive of the Estense Duchy. The hall was subsequently named Congress Hall and then Tricolore Hall, and is now the home of the City Council.
The Museum of the Tricolour Flag was opened in 2004 to document the historical and political context in which the flag was created.
