Emblem of Italy

Emblem of the Italian Republic
Armiger	Italian Republic
Adopted	5 May 1948
Crest	None
Shield	Upon a cogwheel proper, the Stella d'Italia ("Star of Italy")
Supporters	Olive and oak
Motto	REPVBBLICA ITALIANA[a]

The emblem of the Italian Republic (Italian: emblema della Repubblica Italiana) was formally adopted by the newly formed Italian Republic on 5 May 1948. Although often referred to as a coat of arms (or stemma in Italian), it is an emblem as it was not designed to conform to traditional heraldic rules. The emblem is used extensively by the Italian government.

The emblem, shaped as a Roman wreath, comprises a white five-pointed star, the Stella d'Italia (English: "Star of Italy"), which is the oldest national symbol of Italy, since it dates back to the Greco-Roman tradition,^[1] with a thin red border, superimposed upon a five-spoked cogwheel, standing between an olive branch to the left side and an oak branch to the right side; the branches are in turn bound together by a red ribbon with the inscription in "REPVBBLICA ITALIANA" in Roman square capitals.^[a]

The armorial bearings of the House of Savoy, blazoned gules a cross argent, were previously in use by the former Kingdom of Italy; the supporters, on either side a lion rampant Or, were replaced with fasci littori (lit. 'bundles of the lictors') during the fascist era.

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