Italian Telegraph Plate. Around 1870

Official plate of a telegraph office of the young Italian republic around 1870. The plate represents the coat of arms of Italy during the years 1870 to 1890. It is made of cast iron, very thick and heavy. Upside down you can see a bar that allowed to suspend it. There remains polychromy which seems to be original which is important, because the flags are not green white red vertical like the Italian flag but a dark blue (perhaps black) white and red horizontal. Under this paint we do not see any previous paint that could have been covered. It is possible that this flag is the colors of one of the Italian regions, or those of one of the countries colonized by Italy. Dimensions approximately 40 x 40 cm. Weight about 15 kilos .Good condition except for a small piece of ribbon missing.