Last modified: 2009-11-21 by eugene ipavec
Keywords: spain | municipality of fuente del maestre | badajoz | extremadura |
Links: FOTW homepage |
search |
disclaimer and copyright |
write us |
mirrors
See also:
The municipality of Fuente del Maestra (locally known as La Fuente; 17,936 ha) is located 70 km of Badajoz.
Already settled in the Upper Paleolithic, the site of Fuente del Maestra was colonized by the Romans in the Ist century AD; most settlements were active until the VIIth century and have provided several archeological remains. The main settlement might have been the enigmatic "Castra Vinaria" mentioned by Pliny. The late Romanesque and Hispano-Wisigothic periods (VI-VIIth century) were characterized by the building of small churches scattered all over the today's municipal territory.
The name of "Funte Roniel" dates back to the Muslim period, which ended with the reconquest by King Alfonso IX of León; the village, granted to the Order of Santiago, received its modern name of "Fuenta del Maestra", together with a coat of arms, from Master ("Maestre") of the Order D. Lorenzo Suárez de Figueroa. Suárez set up the seat of the Order and his personal residence ("El Corro") in Fuente del Maestra in 1400, as authorized by King Enrique III in 1398.
The XVIth century was the gilded age of the village, since several of its inhabitants went to the Americas as conquistadores or colonists and came back very rich; the population grew up swiflty and new boroughs had to be built out of the city walls.
On 27 March 1606, King Felipe II granted the title of "Villa" to the village. This title was upgraded to "Ciudad" on 6 June 1899 by Regent Maria Cristina. By Decree 136, signed on 17 November 1998), the Government of Extremadura proclaimed the town "Bien de Interés Cultural con Categoría de Conjunto Histórico".
Source: Fuente del Maestre Portal
Ivan Sache, 24 Apr 2008
On 18 April 2008, the flag and arms of Fuente del Maestra were unveiled by Mayor Juan Antonio Barrios García and Abelardo Muñoz, the designer of the symbols. Beforehand, there was no municipal flag and several, unofficial versions of the coat of arms, most of them poorly designed, had been in use. A recent Decree by the Government of Extremadura transferred competency for the approval of municipal symbols to the Municipal Councils, therefore the adoption of the symbols of Fuente del Maestra by the Municipal Council was the last step of the adoption process.
The municipal flag is quartered red-white, each quarter having a counter-coloured border inside the flag, with the municipal coat of arms in the middle.
Ivan Sache, 24 Apr 2008
Everything was crystal-clear up to now, but the available sources show two different designs for the municipal shield, and therefore for the flag!
PDF: Municipal flag (Bandera de la Ciudad de Fuente del Maestre")
PDF: Municipal coat of arms (no caption)
The municipal coat of arms is a white shield with the Cross of the Order of Santiago and a red scallop in each corner, overall an escutcheon horizontally divided white-red. The white part of the escutcheon is charged with a red cross surrounded in chief by two blue eight-pointed stars, while the red part of the escutcheon is charged with the local fountain and a yellow lion.
The Cross of Santiago recalls the influence of the Order al over Lower Extremadura,and especially in the town of Fuente del Maestra. The fountain is the fountain (therefore the name of the village) of the Corro, probably built in the XVIth century with white marble. The scallops represent the local family Zambrano. The shield is surmonted with the Royal Crown.
The four scallops are placed in the corner of the upper part of the escutcheon, where the two blue stars are omitted.
I tend to believe that the right version should be as shown on the official website, but this needs to be confirmed.
Ivan Sache, 24 Apr 2008