Vatican City Flag

Description

The Vatican City flag is available from Flags Online in full-size and desk formats, printed on both sides and made to last outdoors.

About the Vatican City Flag

The Vatican City flag is instantly recognisable for its plain gold and white halves and its square shape, a rarity among national flags. It was formally adopted on 7 June 1929, the day Pope Pius XI signed the Lateran Treaty with Italy and established Vatican City as an independent state. Despite that comparatively recent adoption date, the Vatican City flag draws on a much older tradition of papal colours going back over a century.

Colours and Symbolism

The gold half of the flag sits at the hoist, with white on the fly, and the white section carries the emblem of the Holy See: the crossed keys of Saint Peter beneath the papal tiara. The keys represent the authority of the papacy, one gold and one silver, reflecting the power to bind and loose associated with Saint Peter in Catholic teaching. The tiara above them stands for the papacy’s spiritual and historical authority. Gold and silver, represented here as yellow and white, are traditional heraldic colours long associated with the Holy See and with wealth and purity respectively.

History of the Vatican City Flag

The story of the colours predates the flag itself. Before 1808, the Papal States flew a yellow and red flag. Pope Pius VII changed the colours to yellow and white that year, largely to distinguish papal troops from Napoleon’s forces, which used similar red schemes. In 1825 this combination was formalised as a merchant flag for the Papal States. When Vatican City was created as a sovereign state in 1929 following the collapse of the wider Papal States decades earlier, this yellow and white tradition was carried over directly, with the coat of arms added to complete the design still used today.

Flying and Displaying the Flag

The Vatican City flag is flown at St Peter’s Basilica, the Apostolic Palace and other buildings within the city state, as well as at Holy See diplomatic missions worldwide. Its 1:1 square proportions set it apart from most other national flags, a detail worth checking when sourcing a correctly proportioned version. Because the flag carries religious symbolism, it is generally treated with the same formal respect as other national flags at official and diplomatic events, and is often flown alongside the flag of Italy in Rome during papal occasions.

Vatican City Flag Sizes and Pricing

• 180 x 120cm — R860
• 22 x 15cm Desk Flag (10 units) — R800
• 10 x 15cm Desk Flag (10 units) — R650
• 90 x 60cm — R400

Material and Construction

Made from 100% polyester bunting material and digitally printed on both sides. Hemmed all around with two rows of stitching and finished with a polyester webbing heading. Rope and toggle for hoisting included.

Supplied in packs of 10. Printed on both sides onto polyester and supplied with a black plastic stick and removable base — take the base off and it doubles as a hand waving flag.

Ordering and Delivery

Every Vatican City flag is printed to order and dispatched from our Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth) and Johannesburg branches, with courier delivery nationwide. Bulk and school orders are welcome — contact us for volume pricing on quantities of 10 or more.

Additional information