The colours of the night

Giorgio Muggiani SCROLL TO READ STORIA N.59 / 110

At the same time, along with being the colours of that March night sky and the last left on his palette, the black and blue contrasted with the red and blue of the former club which was a form of symbolic opposition that the artist really wanted as later revealed by his son. Whether it be by a fortunate coincidence or a story that’s changed over time, the result is the same and Inter are a daughter of the night, like the club’s colours and its first fan Giorgio Muggiani.

This splendid night bestows us with the colours of our crest: Black and blue against a gilded backdrop of stars.

An illustrator, painter and later a sporting director, Giorgio Muggiani designed the Internazionale badge with his eyes focused on the night sky. As often happens when legend meets history, different versions of the story have been told with various doses of the truth. Some stories tell that Muggiani’s paint palette only had two colours left: Black and blue. But, it’s understood that sometimes destiny corresponds with the decisions taken. Muggiani entered the world of football as a member of Milan Football and Cricket Club but disagreements with the President Gianni Camperio led him to leave the club in search of new adventures, together with other dissidents who would form the core of what would become Inter.

The golden background of stars shone like diamonds on a black and blue sky. 9 March 1908 wasn’t a night like the others because it inspired the colours of a club who would wear them every year apart from in the 1928-29 season when there was a white shirt with a red cross that stemmed from the merger of Inter and Milanese.

Giorgio Muggiani

Giorgio Muggiani (Milan, 14 April 1887 – Lenno, 30 June 1938) was a painter, illustrator and sporting director at Inter after being a member at Milan Football and Cricket Club. It was he who designed the Nerazzurri’s badge in March 1908, indirectly choosing the kit colours. He died at just 51 years of age at Lake Como after a sudden illness. From 2 November 2010, his name was inscribed on the Famedio chapel at Milan’s Cimitero Monumentale.