The vexillum was a flag like object used in the Classical Era of the Roman Empire. The vexillum resembles the modern flag, however, the cloth is draped vertically from a horizontal edge, rather than horizontally hoisted flags used today. The word vexillogy, the study of flags, had been coined after this flag.
Nearly all of the present regions of Italy preserve the use of the vexillum - one of the few cases of vexillum usage in modern times.