The origins of the Sala del Tricolore The origins of the hall date back to 1768, when the
Duke of Modena and Reggio Francesco III d'Este decided to have a central state archive built that should have kept all the documents of the
Duchy of Modena and Reggio. The architect's choice to entrust the drafting of the project and the construction of the new hall fell on Lodovico Bolognini, who then carried out the work from 1772 to 1785. During the construction from 1773 to 1774, Giovanni Benassi, a court carpenter, always under the supervision of Bolognini, built a wooden model of the hall which lacked, compared to the modern version, the balconies. Instead, shelving was provided for archiving documents, which were accessed via wooden ramparts. Shortly after the end of the construction, it was decided not to use it as an archive because it was thought the large quantity of documents could have caused a vast fire, with all the consequences of the case. In order to decide the intended use of the hall, the ducal archive was rejected, and a commission was established. This consultation proposed, among other things, its splitting up into several rooms to be used as offices, but the duke opposed this and postponed the decision.
The birth of the flag of Italy , the "father of the Italian flag" With the
invasion of Napoleon's troops, the
Duke of Modena and Reggio Francesco III d'Este fled and the Reggian Republic was proclaimed (26 August 1796). At the same time the Civic Guard of the city of Reggio was constituted and this military formation, aided by a small group of French
grenadiers, defeated a squad of 150 Austrian soldiers at
Montechiarugolo on 4 October 1796. The victory was important — both from a political and symbolic point of view — that Napoleon made an official commendation to the Reggio soldiers who were the protagonists of the battle. For the armed clash of Montechiarugolo, Napoleon defined the city of Reggio Emilia as: Moreover, in
Reggio Emilia, in August 1796, one of the first
liberty pole had been planted. This event, which arose from a revolt against the ducal government on 20 August 1796 in Reggio, contributed, together with the events linked to the battle of Montechiarugolo, to the decision to choose Reggio Emilia as the venue for the cispadane congress, the assembly that then led to the birth of the flag of Italy. As a symbolic recognition of the Montechiarugolo clash, and for the event related to the tree of liberty, Napoleon suggested to the deputies of the Cispadan cities (Reggio,
Modena,
Bologna and
Ferrara) to gather for their first congress assembly on 27 December 1796 in Reggio Emilia. The proposal was followed despite controversy with the other cities of
Emilia, which wanted the assembly organized in their own municipality; the congress of 27 December took place then in the hall of the Reggio town hall designed by Bolognini which was to house the archive of the former duchy. Here, 110 delegates chaired by Carlo Facci approved the
constitutional charter of the
Cispadane Republic, including the territories of Bologna, Ferrara, Modena and Reggio Emilia. For this reason, the hall of the Bolognini was renamed "centumvirate congress hall" or "patriotic hall". In subsequent meetings, which always took place in the "hall of the congress centumvirate" of Reggio, many decisions were decreed and formalized, including the choice of the emblem of the newly formed republic. To put forward the proposal for the adoption of a green, white and red national flag was
Giuseppe Compagnoni — who for this reason is remembered as the "father of the Italian flag" — in the XIV session of the congress cispadano of 7 January 1797. The adoption decree states: The final choice of a green, white and red flag was not without a prior discussion. The Italian
Jacobins would have favored the blue of the
French flag, while the members of the papacy would have preferred the yellow of the
Papal States' banner. There were no disputes on the white and the red. Finally, the discussion on the third color focused on green, which was later approved as a compromise solution. The choice of green was most probably inspired by the tricolor green, white and red military flag of the
Lombard Legion, the first Italian military department to equip itself, as a banner, with an Italian tricolor flag. The congress decision to adopt a green, white and red tricolour flag was then greeted by a jubilant atmosphere, such was the enthusiasm of the delegates, and by a peal of applause. For the first time, the Italian flag officially became the national flag of a sovereign state, disengaging itself from the local military and civic meaning; this adoption the Italian flag therefore assumed an important political value. On the basis of this event, the "centumvirate congress hall" of Reggio was later renamed "Sala del Tricolore". In the assembly of 21 January, which was instead convened in
Modena, the adoption of the Tricolor was confirmed. The flag of the Cispadane Republic was in horizontal bands with the top red, the white in the center and the green at the bottom. In the center was also the emblem of the republic, while on the sides the letters "R" and "C" were shown, the initials of the two words that form the name of the "
Repubblica Cispadana". == See also ==