The flag of Abruzzo is solid red – officially this should be burgundy red – and features the region's coat of arms in the centre. It was created in 1986 and shows a gold-edged shield divided diagonally from left to right, with white above green above blue. The white represents the snow-capped mountains, the green represents the hills and forests of the region, and the blue represents the Adriatic Sea. In 2022, the coat of arms was further modified, with a crown added and the figure of the "Warrior of Capestrano", an important regional archaeological find from the 6th century B.C., was placed in the centre. A blue banner was also added below the coat of arms with the motto: "Gentium Vel Fortissimarum Italiæ" ("To the bravest people of Italy"). The coat of arms was revised again at the end of 2023, with the crown removed and replaced by the words "Regione Abruzzo", the banner was recoloured in white (silver) and the warrior was heavily stylised.
6th cent. B.C. · the Frentanians and Marsers settle in today's Abruzzo and become allies of Rome between 300 B.C. and 250 B.C.
410 A.D. · invasion of the Western Goth
476 · dismissal of the last Roman emperor Romulus Augustulus, end of the (West)Roman Empire, today's Abruzzo belongs until 493 to the Empire of the Odoaker
to 565 · conquest by Byzantium (Eastern Roman Empire)
568/569 · conquest of the today's Abbruzzo by the Langobards and incorporation into their empire as Duchy of Spoleto
774 · conquest by the Franks, the Duchy of Spoleto is incorporated into the Frankish Empire of the Carolingians
843 · at the division of the Frankish Empire the Duchy of Spoleto becomes a part of the Kingdom of Italy
961 · Otto I. brings the Duchy of Spoleto to the German Kingdom
1130 · Lower Italy with the Langobardian principalities, Naples Town, the Duchy of Spoleto and the from the Byzantians left Norman territorities get united with the Norman Kingdom of Sicily, the today's Abbruzzo is a part of it and remains connected with the Kingdom of Sicily to 1861 (resp. 1282–1815 with the Kingdom of Naples)
1194 · the Kingdom of Siciliy comes to the House of Hohenstaufen
1209 · a large part of the Duchy of Spoleto gets purchased from the Papal States (Patrimonium Petri)
1266 · the Kingdom of Siciliy comes to the house Anjou, Naples becomes perpetual capital of the Empire
1282 · "Sicilian Vespers" – by a uprising comes the Island of Sicily as a kingdom to the House of Aragón, Lower Italy remains as Kingdom of Sicily (unofficial: Kingdom of Naples) until 1442 at Anjou
1495 · the Kingdom of Naples gets a French estate
1529 · the Kingdom of Naples gets estate of the House of Habsburg
1556 · the Kingdom of Naples comes to the Spanish line of the House of Habsburg
1701–1714 · Spanish heritage succession war
1714 · peace treaty of Utrecht, the Kingdom of Naples and the Kingdom of Sardinia come to the House of the Austrian Habsburgs, Kingdom of Sicily comes to Savoy-Piedmont
1734 · the House of Habsburg leaves the Kingdom of Naples-Sicily to the House of the Spanish Bourbons
January 1799 · invasion of French revolutionary troops, in the Kingdom of Naples the Bourbon rule ends, proclamation of the Parthenopean Republic, the king fled to Palermo, withdrawal of the French troops, the island of Sicily remains at the House of Bourbon
June 1799 · anti-French uprising, fall of the republic, the king returns
1806 · invasion of French troops under Napoléon I., Napoleón enthrones his brother Joseph Bonaparte as King of Naples
1808 · Joseph Bonaparte becomes King of Spain, Napoleón enthrones his brother-in-law Joachim Murat as King of Naples
1796 · Italy campaign of Napoléon, Sicily remains at the House of Bourbon
1815 · Congress of Vienna, reconstruction of Europe after the era of Napoléon, the Kingdom Sicily and the Kingdom of Naples come to the Spanish Bourbons
8th of December in 1816 · establish of the Kingdom of Two Sicilies under the Spanish Bourbons
1860 · Garibaldi's campaign against the Kingdom of Two Sicilies, the king exiles, Garibaldi acts as dictator
1861 · the Kingdom of Two Sicilies has to join the Kingdom of Italy
1947 · establishment of the Abruzzo region as administrative unit
1963 · Molise separates from the Abbruzzo region and forms an independent region
The name "Abruzzo" is the name of a landscape in the central Italian Apennine Mountains. It was awarded by the Romans and goes probably back to the word "aper" or even "abruptus". The first means "boar", the second "steep".
