Maritime republics
20th century
### 20th century

The number "four", which still often occurs today associated with maritime republics, is, as can be seen, not original: the short list of maritime republics was limited to two (Genoa and Venice) or three cities (Genoa, Venice and Pisa); the long list included Genoa, Venice, Pisa, Ancona, Amalfi and Gaeta.

Crucial for the diffusion of the list of four maritime republics was a publication by Captain Umberto Moretti, who was tasked by the Royal Navy in 1904 with documenting the maritime history of Amalfi. The volume was released under the significant title *The First Maritime Republic of Italy*. From that moment on, the name of Amalfi definitively joined that of the other republics in the short list, shifting the imbalance towards the centre\-north of the country with its presence.

In the 1930s, a list made up of four names was consolidated: Amalfi, Pisa, Genoa and Venice. This finally led to the inclusion of the symbols of the four cities in the Italian Navy's flag. The flag, approved in 1941, would not be adopted until 1947 due to [World War II](/wiki/World_War_II "World War II"). In 1955, the four cities represented in the navy flag inspired the [Regatta of the Historical Marine Republics](/wiki/Regatta_of_the_Historical_Marine_Republics "Regatta of the Historical Marine Republics").

Armando Lodolini's 1967 book *The Republics of the Sea* resumed the previous long list of maritime republics: Venice, Genoa, Pisa, Ancona, Gaeta, and the Dalmatian Ragusa. Noli's status as a small maritime republic would only come into focus in later decades after previously being affirmed only at an academic level.

In 2000, Italian president [Carlo Azeglio Ciampi](/wiki/Carlo_Azeglio_Ciampi "Carlo Azeglio Ciampi") summed up the maritime republics' historic role with these words:


What impact did World War II have on the adoption of the Italian Navy's flag?