Napoleon arrives in Milan May 10, 1796, after the army defeated the Austrian and Sardinian. Napoleon himself is the Lombard Legion, which has 3471 volunteers. This body shall adopt a standard flag on the French model of 1790, with the green instead of blue. Shortly after forming the republic Cispadana in Reggio Emilia (composed of the city of Bologna, Ferrara, Modena and Reggio), which chose as its flag the tricolor, but horizontal stripes. In 1798 the Cisalpine Republic was formed, which merges the territories of that Republic Cispadana with Lombardy and Milan, it became the capital. The official flag keeps the three colors, but they return to an upright position. Officially, the Our flag was born. With the unification of Italy done by the Piedmont in 1861, the flag includes the coat of arms in the center of Savoy, which remains until 1946, when the referendum the majority of Italians chose the Republic.
