Last modified: 2015-07-28 by ivan sache
Keywords: villafranca de los barros | cross: order of santiago (white) | crown: royal (open) | musical note (yellow) | horseman (white) | soldiers: 2 (white) |
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![[Municipality of Villafranca de los Barros (Badajoz Province, Extremadura, Spain)]](../images/e/es-ba-vb.gif)
image by Ivan Sache, 29 Jul 2010
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The municipality of Villafranca de los Barros [1] (12,600 inhabitants; 10,500 ha) is located in the middle of a wide plain made of fertile clay soil, in the center of the Province of Badajoz, some 75 km from the provincial capital. The town is the second biggest town of the Comarca of Tierra de Barros.
In Roman times, the main crops in the region were grains, today outgrown by olive-trees and vines. Local erudites traditionally identified Villafranca de los Barros with the Roman town of Perceiana, most probably a village located near the villa Perceiana owned by Perceianus. Short after the Reconquista by the Catholic Kings, Villafranca was transferred to the Order of Santiago and the place was resettled in the late 13th century. It is not known exactly when the town was given the charter explaining its name (lit., free town). In the 15th century, it was known as Villafranca del Maestre or del Maestrazgo; in the 18th century, it was known as Villafranca de Extremadura. The current name was adopted in the 19th century; the title of town ("ciudad") was granted by King Alfonso XII in 1885. The town was granted the official nickname of "Ciudad de la Música" (The City of Music) by the Executive Commission of the Federation of the Municipalities of the Province of Badajoz on 16 February 2000, as a tribute to the long tradition of music examplified by the local (but of wider fame) folklorists Pedro Bote and Bonifacio Gil. The grant was confirmed on 22 October 2002 by the Government of Extremadura.
Ivan Sache, 24 Feb 2007
There is an electronic contest for the selection of the municipal flag of Villafranca de los Barros, with nine proposals presented on the municipal website [2], shown as "Proposal 1" , ..., "Proposal 9." The proposals are shown as more or less floating so that exact overall and particular dimensions can only be guessed.
Ivan Sache, 24 Feb 2007
On 13 April 2007, Antonio Ortiz reports in "Hoy" the approval by the Municipal Council of the winning design [5].
Ivan Sache, 29 Jul 2010
The flag of Villafranca de los Barros is white with a red border, the municipal shield in the middle and at each corner of the flag the emblem of the town, made of a music staff with five lines and seven notes, all yellow outlined in black, the whole also recalling a grape. The emblem recalls that Villafranca de los Barros was granted the official title of "Ciudad de la Música" and that grapevine is a main local crop.
The flag was designed by Jesús Ruiz de Burgo, who offered his work for free to the municipality. Presented as "an hybrid of the first and second choices of the citizens of the town", the flag is indeed similar to proposal No. 5 with a municipal emblem in each corner instead of a single one in a small white canton.
The flag is now shown on the municipal website, together with the municipal coat of arms [6].
Ivan Sache, 29 Jul 2010
The coat of arms is described on the municipal website as follows [6]:
The municipal coat of arms was approved by the Council of Ministers on 29 January 1982. On a field gules a knight in armour, riding a horse galloping argent. The knight holds a shield charged with the master cross of the Order of Santiago [4], and is flanked sinister by two warriors on foot, also in armour and each holding the same shield as the rider. In canton argent the cross of the Order of Santiago. The scene refers to an historical event involving the Commander of Villafranca. The registers of the Order of Santiago relate the martial acts of the Commanders of the Order. The coat of arms is based on such an act involving the Commander of Villafranca and his troops: "During the battle on the hills of Málaga against the Moors, the Commander of Villafranca fought together with the Commander of Hornachos. The horse of the Grand Master of the Order was killed. Accordingly, the Commander of Villafranca offered his horse to the Grand Master so that he could lead the battle.The scene on the shield represents therefore the Grand Master riding the horse and the Commanders of Villafranca and Hornachos on foot.
Ivan Sache, 24 Feb 2007