La Vuelta a España 2016

Spanish Heraldry
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Chris Green
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Re: La Vuelta a España 2016

Postby Chris Green » 09 Sep 2016, 08:33

Today (Thursday) is a time trial between Xabia/Jávea on the Valencian coast (nearly the most eastern point of continental Spain) and Calp/Calpe further down the coast.

Xabia's arms are:

Image

Blazon: Escudo ibérico partido y entado en punta. En el primer cuartel, en campo de oro, cuatro palos de gules. En el segundo cuartel, en campo de azur, sobre olas de azur y plata, una torre de plata mazonada de sable sobre rocas de su color, surmontada de una flor de lis de oro. En el entado en punta, en campo de oro, cinco estrellas de azur, colocadas en sautor. Al timbre corona real abierta. Flanqueado la tarja del escudo dos eles de oro.


In this case the shield is blazoned as "Iberian" though its shape is hardly peculiar to Spain and Portugal. The two "L" supporters are not unique to Xabia, but I am not sure as to their function. Are they perhaps augmentations of honour?

Calp's arms are:

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The castle which features in the arms is that built by the Moors. It was maintained after the Reconquista, but was apparently ineffectual against Moorish raids from North Africa. Wiki informs us that as late as 1687 the town was plundered by Barbary pirates. 290 townsfolk were captured and taken to Algeria, where they were imprisoned for 5 years, until their liberation in exchange for gold and the release of pirate prisoners. The motto, or rather augmentation of honour, "Muy Heroica Villa" is placed on an orle rather than the more usual bordure. I cannot (so far) discover why Calp was honoured in this way or when. It might have been in 1359 following a battle between King Pedro II of Aragon and King Pedro I of Castile.
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JMcMillan
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Re: La Vuelta a España 2016

Postby JMcMillan » 09 Sep 2016, 14:05

Chris Green wrote:Today (Thursday) is a time trial between Xabia/Jávea on the Valencian coast (nearly the most eastern point of continental Spain)


Not all that "nearly"--Cadaqués, just below the French border, is more than three degrees of longitude farther east. In fact, the entire coast above Peñiscola is east of Jávea.
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Chris Green
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Re: La Vuelta a España 2016

Postby Chris Green » 09 Sep 2016, 15:55

Not all that "nearly"


So true. Silly me.
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Re: La Vuelta a España 2016

Postby Chris Green » 10 Sep 2016, 08:17

The Vuelta's penultimate stage starts from Benidorm on the coast and then winds its way through what the riders may think is every steep hill in the countryside to the north and north-west finishing at the Alto de Aitana.

Benidorm's arms appear to be the result of a competition among primary school children to paint a picture of Benidorm bay as it might have looked in the 13th century.

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Blazon (Catalan): En camp d'atzur, una torre de pedra aclarida de sable, aterrassada d'una espècie de platja que es perllonga pels flancs formant una badia, amb una torre en cada extrem; dintre de la badia, ones de mar d'argent i atzur i en la sinistra una barca de sable; en l'horitzó que forma el mar i a la destra, un monticle en forma d'illot; la torre principal està surmontada d'un escut de dama d'or amb quatre pals de gules. Timbre: Corona de baró.


I could only find the blazon in Catalan, but it is close enough to Spanish to note that the Aragonese lozenge is described as "un escut de dama" (a lady's shield) and that the coronet is a "corona de baró" (baron's coronet).

The Alto de Aitana is a peak not far from Penáguila whose arms reflect the town's name. "Peña" means cliff or rock and "águila" means eagle.

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Blazon: Escudo cuadrilongo de punta redonda. En campo de plata una peña del natural sumada de un águila de sable. En jefe, escusón con las armas reales de Valencia: de oro cuatro palos de gules. Por timbre, corona real abierta.


The finishing line is at the Alto de Aitana's Air Force base, home of Escuadrón de Vigilancia Aérea No 5 (EVA 5), an early warning radar unit, part of the NATO integrated air defence system.

Image
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Re: La Vuelta a España 2016

Postby Chris Green » 11 Sep 2016, 08:10

Today (Sunday) is the last day of the Vuelta and it looks as though, bar an accident, the winner will be Nairo Quintana of Colombia with Britain's Chris Froome just over a minute behind.

The stage starts from Las Rozas de Madrid, north-west of the capital:

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Blazon: Partido. 1º de azur, cigüeña al natural. 2º, de plata, encina arrancada, de sinople. Entado en punta, ondas de plata y azur. (En entado también se representa en campo de gules, un sol de oro, naciente de ondas de plata y azur.)


I first thought that the tree might be a strawberry tree, as in the arms of Madrid. But "encina" means "holm oak".

It then passes through Majadahonda:

Image

Blazon: Un escudo dividido en mantel. Un castillo en oro sobre fondo azul. Una majada o corral al pie de una sierra nevada, superada de un cordero echado, todo al natural sobre fondo verde. Un racimo de uvas negras, también al natural, sobre fondo de plata. Todo ello bajo una corona de cinco brazos dorada.


The story of the arms of Madrid may be found on last years Vuelta thread:

http://amateurheralds.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=937
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Re: La Vuelta a España 2016

Postby Chris Green » 11 Sep 2016, 20:29

So Nairo Quintana duly won. He comes from Cómbita in the Department of Boyacá in Colombia.
I am afraid the only illustration of Combitá's arms I could find is tiny:

Image

Boyacá's arms however are quite impressive:

Image

Blazon: Escudo de forma circular con bordura dorada, llevando en su interior un paisaje donde se ubica en el centro el Puente de Boyacá, en oro, y en sus alrededores tres toldas de campaña, todas en su color. Tras el perfil de la cordillera, un sol naciente de oro en cielo celeste. Bajo del puente, aguas en azur. Como timbre, corona muisca de oro. Como cimera y enmarcando el escudo, águila de sable mirando al lado diestro del escudo, con las alas abiertas, de cola baja y garras esparcidas. En lugar inferior, una cinta ondeante en oro, con la inscripción en sable “INDEPENDENCIA, 7 DE AGOSTO DE 1819”.
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