in the presence of the most important offices of the Italian Republic. On March 16, 2015, the Sala del Tricolore hosted a youth political event for Emilia-Romagna and the city; the opening ceremony of the XV Regional Session of the Model European Parliament hosted delegations from the host city, Ferrara, Mirandola, Modena, Carpi, Cento and Prato. Mayor Luca Vecchi, the MEP president Andrea Russo, and other authorities opened the session to a full Sala del Tricolore. History The origins of the Sala del Tricolore The origins of the hall date back to 1768, when the Duke of Modena and Reggio Francesco III d'Este decided to have a central state archive built that should have kept all the documents of the Duchy of Modena and Reggio. The architect's choice to entrust the drafting of the project and the construction of the new hall fell on Lodovico Bolognini, who then carried out the work from 1772 to 1785. During the construction from 1773 to 1774, Giovanni Benassi, a court carpenter, always under the supervision of Bolognini, built a wooden model of the hall which lacked, compared to the modern version, the balconies. Instead, shelving was provided for archiving documents, which were accessed via wooden ramparts. Shortly after the end of the construction, it was decided not to use it as an archive because it was thought the large quantity of documents could have caused a vast fire, with all the consequences of the case. In order to decide the intended use of the hall, the ducal archive was rejected, and a commission was established. This consultation proposed, among other things, its splitting up into several rooms to be used as offices, but the duke opposed this and postponed the decision. The birth of the flag of Italy With the invasion of Napoleon's troops, the Duke of Modena and Reggio Francesco III d'Este fled and the Reggian Republic was proclaimed (26 August 1796). At the same time the Civic Guard of the city of Reggio was constituted and this military formation, aided by a small group of French grenadiers, defeated a squad of 150 Austrian soldiers at Montechiarugolo on 4 October 1796. The victory was important — both from a political and symbolic point of view — that Napoleon made an official commendation to the Reggio soldiers who were the protagonists of the battle. For the armed clash of Montechiarugolo, Napoleon defined the