Cispadane Republic

The Cispadane Republic (Italian: Repubblica Cispadana) was a short-lived republic located in northern Italy, founded in 1796 with the protection of the French army, led by Napoleon Bonaparte. In the following year, it was merged into the Cisalpine Republic.

On 16 October 1796, a congress was held in Modena after the previous ruler, Duke Hercules III, had fled to Venice to escape the French advance. The congress was formed by representatives from the provinces of Modena, Bologna, Ferrara and Reggio Emilia. The congress was unofficially organized by Napoleon, whose French army had swept through northern Italy earlier in the year, and needed to settle the situation in Italy and gather new troops for an offensive against Austria. The congress proclaimed that the four provinces would form the Repubblica Cispadana and invited other Italian populations to join them. A civic guard, composed of mounted hunters and artillery, was formed. In the 7 January 1797 session, in Reggio Emilia, the congress decided to form a government. The flag, the first tricolore in Italy, was a horizontal tricolour, with red (top), white and green stripes. In the center was an emblem composed of a quiver, accolade to a war trophy, with four arrows that symbolized the four provinces forming the Republic, all within a crown of bay.

According to its constitution, the Republic was governed by a directory based on the French Directory; it had a bicameral parliament composed of a Council of Sixty and a Council of Thirty, and was divided into departments and municipalities. On 9 July 1797, the Cispadane Republic united with the Transpadane Republic to form the Cisalpine Republic.