Vila Real Municipality (Portugal)

Last modified: 2010-07-10 by antónio martins
Keywords: vila real | coat of arms: orle | sword (white) | sword: upright | hand: holding sword | aleo | aléu |
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• About the flag
• Version without the coat of arms
• Presentation of Vila Real

• Municipalities of Portugal
• Portugal

• Page about the municipal flag and coat of arms of Vila Real at Sérgio Horta’s website (in Portuguese).
  reported by Jorge Candeias, 29 Feb 1999
• Page about Vila Real at the Portuguese Municipalities’s Association website (incl. image of the arms)
  reported by António Martins, 18 Nov 2001
• Vila Real at the English Wikipedia
  reported by António Martins, 26 Jul 2007

About the flag

It is a fairily typical portuguese municipal flag, with the coat of arms centered on white and green gyronny (city rank) background. Flag and arms adopted and published in the official journal Diário da República :III Série in 1962.01.26, a remarkably late date.
António Martins, 13 Aug 2007

The arms are Or a wreath of thorn oak Proper encircling the word "ALEU" Gules and spitted on a sword Argent held vertically by a hand Proper issuant from the base . Mural crown argent with five visible towers (city rank), white scroll reading in black upper case letters "Vila Real".
António Martins, 10 Aug 2007

The word "Aléu" (current spelling) or "Aleo" (pre-1911 usual spelling) was Sir Mem Martins’ personal warcry. It shows in a number of Portuguese millitary and subnational coats of arms, and on their respective flags (such as Alcoutim Municipality), where ever there is a connection with this historical personality.
António Martins, 10 Aug 2007

Version without the coat of arms

Plain (monocolored) portuguese subnational flags are not allowed to have armless variations: plain flags always carry the coat of arms.
Jorge Candeias, 18 Jul 1999

Presentation of Vila Real

Vila Real municipality had 49 957 inhabitants in 2001 and consists of 30 communes covering 377,67 km². It is part of Vila Real District, traditional province and 1999 ref. adm. region Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, C.C.R. / NUTS II Norte, and NUTS III Douro. Vila Real is one of the 40 “ancient” (pre-1973) portuguese cities (see the Portuguese Wikipedia).
António Martins, 10 Aug 2007

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