Why do the Italians wear blue?
June 15, 2005 2:32 PM   Subscribe

The Italian football (soccer) and Rugby teams play in Blue (Azzurri) and yet there is no Blue in their Flag. Anyone know why?
posted by angusw to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (5 answers total)
 
It's the colour of the House of Savoia, which ruled Italy from 1861 to 1946.
posted by essexjan at 2:40 PM on June 15, 2005


I think the Anglicanization of the name is "Savoy", FYI.
posted by geoff. at 3:28 PM on June 15, 2005


the "tricolore" was born even before Italy herself -- in 1797, as the flag of the Repubblica Cispadana.
Green like the plains, white like the snow of the mountains, red like the blood of the patriots. the blue ("azzurro Savoia", Savoy blue) arrives in 1861 -- a thin blue border on the left side of the flag.

The (very ugly, imo) Presidential flag, instead, (designed in 2000) has four big fat blue borders
posted by matteo at 4:45 PM on June 15, 2005


Didn't Napolean design the current Italian flag?
posted by PenDevil at 7:21 AM on June 16, 2005


An addition to that:

The dutch soccer team wears orange, no orange on their flag. Once again, it's due to the royal family, which used to be (is?) "orange".
posted by defcom1 at 10:47 AM on June 16, 2005


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