Flag of Sardinia

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The flag of Sardinia, popularly known in Sardinia also as the Four Moors flag, is the officially recognized flag of the Autonomous Region of Sardinia.

The flag consists of a red cross on a white background, with a maure (moor's head) in each quarter.

According to the Spaniard tradition, the four moors' symbol appeared first in the celebrations following the conquer of Alcoraz by King Peter I of Aragon and Navarre in 1096, where the four moors refer to the Arab defeat by his hand. The Sardinian tradition instead dates the origin of the symbol in 1017, as a banner given by Pope Benedict II to the Pisans in order to help the Sardinians by the attacks from the Saracens led by Mujahid al-Amiri.

However, the first historically documented appearance of the emblem is dated 1281, as a seal used by the royal chancellorship of Peter III of Aragon, and its first association with Sardinia came in the second half of the 14th century, as official symbol of the Kingdom inside the Confederation of the Aragon Crown. Since the 1700s, the flag was represented with the heads turned to the left and the bandages to hide the moors' eyes.

The official recognition of the flag of Sardinia inside the Italian Republic came in 1952, thanks to a Presidential decree. A regional law approved in 1999 changed the flag, with the heads now turned to the right and the bandages again encircling the forehead.

[edit] Sources

• (Italian) History of the four moors flag