Saturday, August 9, 2008

What’s the Difference Between the Italian and Mexican Flag?

Italian Flag (left) and Mexican Flag (right)
Flag of Italy Flag of Mexico

Recently, we hung an Italian-flag windsock on our deck as a prop for an upcoming party and realized that the colors of Italian flag looked a lot like the Mexican flag on first glance. (A neighbor dutifully noted the windsock and commented that she was surprised because we were not “windsock” people.)

So what are the differences between the Italian and Mexican flags? The Italian flag is a vertical tricolor (in Italian Il Tricolore) of green, white, and red. The Mexican flag on first glance is the same except the there is a coat of arms in the center white stripe. However, there are a couple of subtle differences. The Italian flag uses lighter shades of green and red and the Italian flag has an aspect ratio (width:height) of 3:2 while the Mexican flag is 7:4.

The Mexican coat of arms in the white band of the flag is an eagle perched on a prickly pear cactus with a snake in its beak and talons.

The meaning of the colors for the Italian flag depend on who you ask. One common and poetic interpretation you might hear is that green is the countryside, white is the snowy Alps, and red is the blood spent during wars for Independence. A less poetic but more accurate explanation is that the Italian flag was first created in 1797 during the short-lived Cispadane Republic of Northern Italy. The red and white were already colors of the flag of Milan and green was based on the color of uniforms. The Italian flag was written into the constitution in 1947 as a tricolor: green, white and red in vertical bands of equal size.

The meaning of the colors for the Mexican flag likewise is not fixed, but can be taken to mean roughly: green = hope, white = purity and red = blood of national heroes (as pointed out by several comments below, in particular the comment August 26, 2017 at 5:53 PM).

The flags for Ireland and Côte d’Ivoire look similar to the Italian and Mexican flags, except they use orange instead of red.

Flag of Ireland (left) and Flag of Côte d’Ivoire (right)
Flag of Ireland Flag of Cote d'Ivoire

If you are into more similarities, a few pointed out in the comments, there are also these:

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44 comments:

  1. AnonymousMay 21, 2011 at 10:30 AM

    Sorry but i dont get it, 2 countries cant have the same flag, meaning different understandings. Please someone explain it to me.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. AlguémJune 7, 2016 at 9:08 PM

      because countries are completelly distinct entities in a really really huge world and generally it's not worth making a fuss over who own 3 squares on a piece of cloth

      Delete
    2. Blogging BrendApril 17, 2020 at 12:38 AM

      Best tell Indonesia and Monaco, or Romania and Chad.

      Delete
    3. AnonymousNovember 11, 2022 at 1:29 PM

      No 2 countries have the same flag.

      Delete
  2. AnonymousApril 23, 2012 at 6:36 PM

    This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  3. AnonymousJune 3, 2012 at 7:51 PM

    The red in the Mexican flag is supposed to symbolize the spilled blood of the national heroes, not the religion. That is the official version we are taught at school.

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    Replies
    1. AnonymousNovember 20, 2014 at 4:53 AM

      This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

      Delete
    2. AlguémJune 7, 2016 at 9:08 PM

      EVERY other flag is the same dude

      Delete
  4. TravelMarxJune 4, 2012 at 5:18 AM

    Thanks for the info.

    ReplyDelete
  5. AnonymousJanuary 14, 2013 at 7:10 AM

    Well its a life lesson, we now know not vist art exibits, or look at new inventions in Mexico, Italy, Ireland, or Côte d’Ivoire because they're obviously not creative people.

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    Replies
    1. AnonymousJune 6, 2013 at 12:29 PM

      clown

      Delete
    2. AnonymousFebruary 3, 2014 at 5:19 AM

      Obviously you dont know anything about lifes lessons except ignorance ! Why dont you get some books out and read about all of them places ! Better yet go and visit them and you we see the difference !

      Delete
    3. AnonymousApril 8, 2014 at 7:20 PM

      Obviously you don't know anything about sarcasm! Why don't you get some books and read about all of the various uses of the written word! Better yet go and visit them on reddit and 4chan and see the difference!

      Delete
    4. AnonymousJune 6, 2015 at 10:44 AM

      I know about sarcasm. Son, your original posting is not sarcastic at all.

      Delete
    5. AnonymousSeptember 18, 2015 at 8:25 PM

      I'm not the op, but yes it was pretty clearly sarcastic

      Delete
    6. AnonymousJanuary 25, 2018 at 7:45 PM

      sarcasm 101 ppl

      Delete
    7. AnonymousFebruary 1, 2018 at 7:21 PM

      the flags of norway and iceland are the same, and so is the flag of Australia and New Zealand. So I wouldn't be talking u stupid moron.

      Delete
  6. AnonymousNovember 12, 2013 at 4:42 AM

    Really????
    Can't you find something more sensible to debate about why does one have to be stupid if the other doesn't relate or understand you are trying to gain knowledge. Not judge a flag of a country where you aren't from respect what's not yours as if it were yours and you will gain the same respect

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  7. AnonymousDecember 13, 2013 at 6:14 PM

    Boobs

    ReplyDelete
  8. AnonymousMarch 27, 2014 at 11:19 PM

    Hmm... The fact that this is the first Google Search result for "Mexican flag and Italian flag" sure did not help the quality of discussion on here.

    ReplyDelete
  9. UnknownApril 26, 2014 at 5:43 AM

    Let's call it a draw...Both countries make the best food...common!

    ReplyDelete
  10. AnonymousAugust 2, 2014 at 9:16 PM

    Well I live in SA Texas... In order for me to get AUTHENTIC Mexican food I had to go to Taco Bell. Run for the Border... Down the street...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. AnonymousApril 10, 2017 at 6:31 AM

      Yeah, Taco Bell is "authentic".

      Delete
  11. AnonymousSeptember 21, 2014 at 12:02 AM

    My wife is from Italy, I'm from the United States. We fly both flags. I served in the United States Marines and Army both. My wife served in the Israeli Defense Forces. So for respect of my wife military service we also fly the flag of Israel. This has caused some troubles and confusion among those who don't know what each flag represents and means to us.

    I'm American, my wife is Italian. She is Jewish, I am not. But I still support Israel and have for a very long time. We get Americans who do not know the obvious differences between the flags who ask why we are flying the Mexican flag? But you can't help stupid. People just need to educate themselves on topics before discussing them.

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    Replies
    1. AnonymousOctober 26, 2014 at 1:53 PM

      Don't you you fly flags for others to view though? It is also out of respect for native patriotism that you also fly the U.S. flag together and higher when flying flags of foreign nations on American soil. You didn't state that this was/wasn't a factor and not assuming in either direction because I am sure you already know this from being on Post/Station from your military background, but if not it usually helps when folks see them grouped like that instead of looking like a joint embassy in your neighborhood :-)

      Delete
    2. AlguémJune 7, 2016 at 9:09 PM

      wtf, you fly simbols of death and destruction on your own home

      Delete
  12. AnonymousJanuary 1, 2015 at 2:29 AM

    The Mexican flag and the Irish flag actually caused some confusion for my dad. Macklemore was performing Irish Celebration in some concert and waved around the Irish flag. Unfortunately the lighting kind of turned the orange into red. For five minutes, my dad was convinced Macklemore was Mexican.

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  13. AnonymousJuly 2, 2015 at 2:44 AM

    Aspect ratios are given by width:height. So, that's 3:2 and 7:4.
    Otherwise, the flags would be vertical.

    ReplyDelete
  14. TravelMarxJuly 30, 2015 at 9:24 PM

    Thanks. Corrected it.

    ReplyDelete
  15. UnknownMarch 1, 2016 at 7:32 PM

    This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  16. UnknownFebruary 13, 2017 at 6:40 PM

    i'm italian and even if sometimes in school we are taught that red stands for the blood , green the countryside and White the alps and it sounds very poetic , it's a late and made up interpreation. Our flag originates from the Cisalpina republic, originally a puppet state created by Napoleon to keep control over northern Italy,that later on developed indipendentist and patriotic movements that eventually led to the unification.(40 years later-70 if we include the annexion of Rome) . It is believed that Napoelon himself, (which nominated himself head of state of the Cisalpina republic and eventually had someone , often a relative, to have the role of "governor") or someone closely related to him made the flag to resemble/mirror the french one.

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  17. TravelMarxFebruary 16, 2017 at 6:25 PM

    Thanks. I made some updates. The more I learn about and travel around Italy, the more amazed I am on Napoleon's impact here.

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  18. AnonymousApril 10, 2017 at 6:30 AM

    Wow, surprised that the blogger that made this post is still active.

    ReplyDelete
  19. TravelMarxApril 10, 2017 at 4:03 PM

    I try to keep things up to date if I can.

    ReplyDelete
  20. AnonymousJune 11, 2017 at 10:01 AM

    Yeah, in the mexican flag the green represents hope (or unity), the white purity of ideals (or religion), and the red represents the blood of our heroes (or the mixture of spanish and native races)

    ReplyDelete
  21. palomares miguelAugust 27, 2017 at 2:53 AM

    Mexico is a secular country since 1857, and the red color has never symbolized religion.

    the green color represents hope and Freedom,

    at the beginning the white color symbolized religion , but with time that has changed into purity and faith.

    the red color can be interpreted as blood of heroes, but it has a deeper poetic meaning, is not just the spilled blood, but as depicted on a battlefield, once the blood was spilled it mixed with the blood of all the others,

    the meaning of the red color is the meaning of our "Race", of the Mexican idiosyncrasy, it means what is Mexico itself, it means : ALLIANCE

    ReplyDelete
  22. TravelMarxAugust 30, 2017 at 12:39 PM

    Thanks, removed "religion" association with "red".

    ReplyDelete
  23. TATA INVESTMENT CORPORATIONFebruary 2, 2018 at 10:10 AM

    This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  24. CliffMarch 3, 2018 at 5:53 PM

    And on the lighter side:

    http://realfunwithflags.blogspot.com/2018/02/doppelgangers-red-white-green.html

    ReplyDelete
  25. AnonymousSeptember 4, 2018 at 1:07 PM

    Easy to tell them appart. Mexican has a blizzard eating a snake in the middle.

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  26. UnknownJanuary 10, 2019 at 2:07 AM

    I am Italian and very happy to have a similar flag to Mexico. Peace xxx

    ReplyDelete
  27. AnonymousFebruary 5, 2023 at 12:56 AM

    New Zealand and Australia, not Austria 🤣

    ReplyDelete
  28. TravelMarxFebruary 6, 2023 at 9:57 AM

    Thank you for spotting that! The link was correct but the link text was not. Too funny. A confession: I dashed this blog post off when I was first starting and didn't think much of it. It has become my most popular post - though I kind of wish it weren't.... Apologies to New Zealand, Australia, and Austria.

    ReplyDelete

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