The Presidential Standard of Italy is the distinctive standard of the presence of the President of the Italian Republic. Therefore, it flies above the Quirinal Palace, when the President is in residence. The standard is flown from the vehicle transporting the president, from prefectures when the president is visiting a city and inside the halls when he acts in an official capacity. The presidential standard is one of the National symbols of Italy. The standard recalls the colors of the flag of Italy, with particular reference to the standard of the historic Italian Republic of 1802-1805; the square shape and the savoy blue border, whose use was maintained even in the Republican era, symbolize the Italian Armed Forces, which are commanded by the president.
The first presidential standard used provisionally since the official proclamation of the Italian Republic was the national flag; later, on 22 September 1965, it was decided to establish a specific presidential standard. The initial idea of creating, as a standard, the overlapping of the emblem of the Republic with the national flag was immediately discarded because of the similarity of this hypothetical composition with the Mexican flag. With the Order No. 76 dated 22 September 1965 the president Giuseppe Saragat, on the impulse of the defense ministry of Italy, chose the first standard "model 1965", which included a savoy blue, whose use was maintained even in the Republican era, square flag loaded with the emblem of the Republic, 3 / 5 of the side of the cloth, in gold. The colors, according to the Italian military tradition, symbolize, respectively, the command and the value. In 1986 a standard was established for the deputy president of the Republic. This standard, which is similar to the first standard of the president, instead of blue, is white with a blue frame; moreover, the emblem of the Republic, instead of being gold, is silver. Later, by decree of the President of the Republic of 22 March 1990, the president Francesco Cossiga adopted the second standard "1990 model", which included a tricolor square drape with a blue border, 1/8 wide of the side of the drape, and introduced a regulation of use that established its use and exposure in ceremonies and public buildings. This model lasted only two years. In fact, by decree of the President of the Republic of June 29, 1992, the president Oscar Luigi Scalfaro restored the standard "model 1965", with the emblem of the Republic reduced in size, that is high 1/3 of the side of the drape: this version is known as a third standard "model 1992". Finally, by decree of the President of the Republic of 9 October 2000, published in the Gazzetta Ufficiale n. 241 of 14 October 2000, the president Carlo Azeglio Ciampi introduced the fourth standard "2000 model", a standard currently in use, which recalls the flag of the historic Italian Republic of 1802-1805. This link with the aforementioned historical standard aims to recall the Risorgimento and the struggle for national unity. The standard currently in use was taken into orbit on board the International Space Station by astronaut Umberto Guidoni and shown during the videoconference with President Ciampi on 25 April 2001. By decree of the President of the Republic of May 17, 2001, published in the Gazzetta Ufficiale No. 11 of May 22, 2001, the distinctive standard was created for the presidents emeritus of the Republic.
