Obblighi di esposizione di bandiere regionali nella Repubblica una e indivisibile: a proposito della sentenza n. 183/2018 della Corte costituzionale

This case note analyses Judgment no. 183/2018 of the Italian Constitutional Court. In this decision the Constitutional Court has struck down the provisions of a regional law of Veneto which introduced an obligation to hoist the regional flag – based on the historic Lion of Saint Mark – on all public buildings located in the Venetian territory, including state buildings. The impugned provisions have been declared unconstitutional for two reasons. First, they illegitimately impinged upon the exclusive state competence to legislate in the field of the legal and administrative organisation of national public agencies and the state itself. Second, they violated fundamental constitutional principles regarding the unity and indivisibility of the Italian Republic and the role of the tricolour flag as a symbol of national unity. This judgment of the Constitutional Court is particularly topical at a time when the state and the Venetian government are negotiating the terms of enhanced autonomy for the region.