Flag of the Valencian Community

2:3 ratio flag
1:2 ratio flag

The flag of the Valencian Community or Valencian Country and of the city of Valencia, known as Reial Senyera (Valencian pronunciation: [reˈjal seˈɲeɾa], "Royal Senyera"), is the traditional Senyera, composed of four red bars on a yellow background, crowned with a blue strip party per pale next to the spear with 1/4 of the total length.[1] It was adopted on July 1, 1982.

It is an historical derivation of the Senyera, the heraldic symbol of the Crown of Aragon, also used today with few variations in all the former kingdoms and counties which were a part of this crown.

History of the flag

As many other flags of medieval origin, the Senyera, or "Senyal Reial" (royal ensign), was used in those years as the arms of the King of Aragon. While not existing still in the Middle Ages, the concept of national flag as understood today, the true symbol of the nationality was constituted on the royal shield.

Arms of the City of Valencia

It is traditionally considered that a Senyera was granted by James I of Aragon as the arms of Valencia following the Christian conquest from Moorish rule in 1238, although the earliest sources related to this are dated in 1377, when the City Council agreed to replace the old arms used for seals with a new one with the Senyera.[2] While the origins of the usage of the Senyera as a coat of arms remain unclear in the agreement, a crown in the helm and two "L" as supporters were added, according to an honour awarded by Peter IV of Aragon for the loyalty and courage shown by Valencians to him in several wars such as the War of the Two Peters against the Kingdom of Castile.

This Valencian coat of arms began to be used in textile standard as a pennon, including the crown in a fringe, although the blue colour was slightly different. It was bipartida, meaning two swallow tails, or abocellada, that's only one swallow rounded and higher tail. The latter is one of the two shapes used and officially regulated today,[3] together with the rectangle, for Valencian municipalities.[4]

The only currently preserved pennon, commonly considered a copy of the original, was made in the 17th century and is kept, though very damaged, at the City Historical Archive of Valencia.

Design

The flag design is or, four stripes of gules. A transversal azure band 1/4 to the hoist ornated with lambrequins of or with a thin stripe of gules ornated with pearls, emeralds and rubies.[5] There are no official proportions specified,[1][6] but two ratios, 1:2 and 2:3, are being used.

Chromatic colours of the Valencian flag

SCARLET YELLOWAZUREGOLDENEMERALD WHITE
           

Flag protocol

The flag of Valencia is to be hoisted both outside and inside of each and every public and civil building of the Valencian Community, without endangering the prominence and most honorable place of the Flag of Spain. It has to be hoisted at the right of the National flag (left from viewer's point). The Flag of Valencia can't be bigger than the Flag of Spain nor smaller than the flags of other entities.[6]

Historical flags

Political Flags

Gallery

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "LEY ORGÁNICA 5/1982, DE 1 DE JULIO, DE ESTATUTO DE AUTONOMÍA DE LA COMUNIDAD VALENCIANA [DOGV núm. 74, de 15 de julio]". Valencian Statute (in Spanish). Centro de Información y Documentación Jurídico Administrativa de la Generalitat Valenciana. Presidencia de la Generalitat. Archived from the original on 2007-07-06. Retrieved 2007-07-18.
  2. ↑ AMV, Manual de Consells, A-17, f. 87r.
  3. ↑ "Decret 116/1994, de 21 de juny, del Govern Valencià, pel qual es regulen els símbols, tractaments i honors de les entitats locals de la Comunitat Valenciana.". Decree about symbols related to Valencian Municipalities (in Catalan). Centre d'Informació i Documentació Jurídico-Administrativa de la Generalitat Valenciana. Presidència de la Generalitat. Retrieved 2007-07-18.
  4. ↑ See an example of a flag in abocellada shape of a Valencian municipality, Vall de Gallinera, or another this of Betxí, in Valencian Information System about Municipalities website.
  5. ↑ José Luis Calvo Pérez; Luis Grávalos González. (1983a). Banderas de España (in English: Flags of Spain). Sílex: Madrid (Spain). ISBN 84-85041-78-X . According to Calvo and Grávalos 1983, drawing 666, the flag of the Comunidad Valenciana is defined in the Organic Law 5/82 of July 1, 1982, published in the Boletín Oficial del Estado number 164: Article 5, 1: "The traditional flag of the CV is made up of four red stripes on a yellow field crowned over a blue band by the hoist." 2. "A Law of the Cortes Valencianas [the autonomous parliament] may determine the heraldical symbols of the Community which shall contain those [arms] of the provinces of Castellón, Valencia and Alicante, and its incorporation to the flag over the stripes". The drawing uses a ratio of 2:3. The precious stones are -E-S-E-S- (E: emerald or green oval; S: sapphire or blue quatrefoil; each hyphen would represent a pearl or white circle), from bottom hoist to top. The width of the blue band (including the thin red stripe carrying the jewels) is about 1/5 of the fly. Also quoted here
  6. 1 2 "Llei de la Generalitat Valenciana 8/1984, de 4 de desembre, per la qual es regulen els simbols de la Comunitat Valenciana i el seu ús.". Protocol to the Valencian Symbols. (in Catalan). Presidència de la Generalitat valenciana. Archived from the original on April 11, 2008. Retrieved 2007-07-17.

External links

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