Marco Bucci, the mayor of Genoa, has jokingly suggested that England owes centuries of unpaid arrears for using the St George's Cross as its flag. The symbol was first adopted by the Italian city during the Crusades, and English ships later flew it under a tribute agreement with the Republic of Genoa.
Bucci said he could write to the Queen about the matter, claiming that payments ceased 247 years ago after the republic collapsed. "Your Majesty, I regret to inform you that from my books [it] looks like you didn't pay for the last 247 years," he joked.
The mayor acknowledged the idea likely has no legal grounds but described it as a potential "biggest stroke of marketing" for Genoa. The St George's Cross is also used by several other northern Italian cities, including Bologna, Padua, and Milan.
St George, thought to have been born in Cappadocia (modern-day Turkey), became England's patron saint after the English Reformation. He is also the patron saint of Portugal, Malta, Georgia, and Ethiopia.
