In the late 18th century, several Italian regions adopted a tricolor
flag of green, white, and red. The tricolor was an inspiration
from the French republics located in the northern parts of Italy, which
were occupied by Napoleon's army during that time. The Italian
tricolor was officially adopted by the Cisalpine Republic in
1798. This flag was in the shape of a square, and the three
colors were represented in vertical bands ("Story of the Italian Flag.")
