In the Ducal Archives of Reggio Emilia, the congress decided to establish a government; the chosen flag was a horizontal tricolor, with red, white, and green stripes. At the center, an emblem composed of a quiver, rising on war trophies, with four arrows inside, symbolizing the four original provinces (Modena, Reggio Emilia, Ferrara, and Bologna), within a laurel wreath. The Italian tricolor was officially born. The same tricolor had already been chosen as the state flag by the Italian Legion, at a meeting in Modena from October 16 to 18, 1796. The first public parade of the tricolor would take place in Modena, on February 12, 1797, with the Modenese priest Don Antonio Rovatti, who had designed the flag, leading the procession.
