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Calheta (Açores) Municipality (Portugal)

Concelho de Calheta (Açores), Açores

Last modified: 2014-11-07 by klaus-michael schneider
Keywords: calheta(acores) | inescutcheons(2) | base(wavy) | goshawk | quina | island(black) | yam | cross(christ knights) | cross(st. george) | birds(2) |
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[Calheta (Açores) municipality] 2:3 image by Sérgio Horta, 14 Oct 2007
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About the Flag

It is a fairly typical Portuguese municipal flag, with the coat of arms centred on a field quartered of blue and white.

António Martins-Tuválkin, 10 Apr 2007

Coat of arms

[Calheta (Açores) municipality CoA] image by Sérgio Horta, 14 Oct 2007

The arms are Argent issuant from a base wavy ofVert and Argent an island Sable beneath two yam leaves Vert crossed per saltire beneath two inescutcheons set in fess, the dexter Argent a cross patty Gules voided of the field, the sinister Argent a cross Gules throughout, in chief a goshawk Proper holding an inescutcheon Azure charged with five plates set in saltire. Mural crown Argent with four visible towers (town rank) and white scroll reading in black upper case letters "VILA DE CALHETA".
António Martins-Tuválkin, 14 Oct 2007


Previous Flag (1986-1994)

[Calheta (Açores) 1986-1994 flag] 2:3 image by António Martins-Tuválkin, 21 Oct 2007

The oddball former flag of Calheta de São Jorge: A very atypical (and unofficial) design, with a coat of arms on a blue-white equal bicolour (based on the regional flag); this coat of arms is Argent a Latin cross patty Gules voided between two birds (goshawks?, crows?) Or and in chief the capital letters "S. Jorge" Or and in campaign the capital letters "Açores" Or.
António Martins, 10 June 2002 and 21 Oct 2007

Flag and arms adopted and published in Jornal Oficial da Região Autónoma dos Açores, I Série on 15 February 1985
Sérgio Horta, 14 Oct 2007


Version without Coat of Arms

[Calheta (Açores) municipality plain] 2:3 image by António Martins-Tuválkin, Apr 2010

Plain (monocoloured) Portuguese subnational flags are not allowed to have variations without arms: plain flags always carry the coat of arms.
Jorge Candeias, 18 July 1999


Presentation of Calheta (Açores)

Calheta municipality had 3972 inhabitants in 2001 and consists of 5 communes covering 126,51 km², taking up the Southeast half of St. George Island (São Jorge). It is part of Azores Region (also a NUTS II and traditional province), former Angra do Heroísmo District. "Calheta" is a diminiitive of "calha", Portuguese for "rail", "gutter", "canal" or "inlet". In this case it probably refers to the latter. This is not hinted at in the arms, which instead are canting for the name of the island (S. George) and feature other geographical, historical and agricultural items.
This Calheta municipality is one of the two of the same name, the other being Calheta (Madeira); to tell them apart this is sometimes refered to as "Calheta de São Jorge", for the island it is located. (Cp. Lagoa and Lagoa (Algarve), the other such case.)
António MartinsTuválkin, 14 Oct 2007


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