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Azeitão (São Lourenço e São Simão) United Commune (Portugal)

Last modified: 2017-04-05 by klaus-michael schneider
Keywords: azeitao | sao lourenco(setubal) | sao simao(setubal) | cross(santiago) | olive(branch) | grapevine | gridiron | walnut(tree) | base(wavy) |
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União das Freguesias de Azeitão (São Lourenço e São Simão), Concelho de Setúbal, Distrito de Setúbal

[Azeitão commune wo/ scroll]
2:3 image by António Martins-Tuválkin, 4 Apr 2017
[Azeitão commune w/ scroll]
2:3 image by António Martins-Tuválkin, 4 Apr 2017
   


See also:

About the Flag

It is a slightly atypical Portuguese communal flag, with the coat of arms without scroll centred on a field quartered of white and green. The legal omission of a scroll in the legal text may be due to a mistake, but over two years passed and no correction was published. That said, I could find no depiction of this coat of arms without a scroll, neither on a flag or as standalone.
Source: this photo
António Martins-Tuválkin, 4 Apr 2017

Coat of arms

Shield Or, a St. James cross Gules and two bunches of grapes Purpure stemmed Vert, all three ordered 1:2, in orle along the base an olive branch Vert fruited Sable. Mural crown Argent with four visible towers (town rank) and no scroll (!) (see left flag image) , according to the legal text. The communal government uses a typical scroll (see right flag image) with the word "AZEITÃO" and, on a 2nd line of text set in much smaller size, "SÃO LOURENÇO E SÃO SIMÃO".
Source: this image
António Martins-Tuválkin, 4 Apr 2017

Flag and arms published in the official journal Diário da República: II Série on 25 February 2015
Source: here
António Martins-Tuválkin, 4 Apr 2017


Presentation of Azeitão

The eastern part of the mountain range that goes from Espichel Cape (Lat.: 38° 24' 49,42" N , Long.: 9° 13' 14,12" W) to the River Sado mouth (Lat.: 38° 30' 51,01" N Long.: 8° 55' 22,62" W) and the hilly area on its northern slope, is called Azeitão (a word cognate with "azeite", = "olive oil"). This area had two Catholic Parishes in the early 1800s and was thus divided in two communes, when the secular administration was created in Portugal. In spite of these two communes corresponding with two main towns, the secular civil subdivisions kept their saint names - which lasted till 2013, when both communes were integrated into a single one. This area was once a standalone municipality, with two communes; before that it had been historically attached to its western neighbour Sesimbra, before being integrated into Setúbal municipality
The two main towns and the former communes are: Vila Nogueira de Azeito - São Lourenço commune (eastern) and Vila Fresca de Azeitão - São Simão commune (western)
Although commonly named simply as Azeitão or Freguesia de Azeitão, the official name is União das Freguesias de Azeitão (São Lourenço e São Simão).
Azeitão Commune is one of the five communes of Setúbal Municipality; it had 18 977 inhabitants in 2011 and covers 69.3 km².
António Martins-Tuválkin, 4 Apr 2017


Former Vila Nogueira de Azeitão - São Lourenço commune (until 2013)

I couldn't find any flag information
António Martins-Tuválkin, 1 Apr 2017

Coat of arms

[Vila Nogueira de Azeito - São Lourenço commune CoA (until 2013)] image by António Martins-Tuválkin, 1 Apr 2017

It is likely that this emblem, if it had any use, was used on flags. It is divided per pale, the dexter half is Argent a gridiron between two sword crosses fleury fitchy all Argent fimbriated Gules, the sinister half is Argent a walnut tree Vert.
Meaning:
"nogueira" means "walnut tree", therefore canting for the town's name, and the gridiron is St. Lawrence's attribute, therefore canting for the commune's name; the crosses may be a botched attempt to refer to St. James - the area was in the hands of the Saint James Order after its conquest in the mid 1100s.
António Martins-Tuválkin, 1 Apr 2017


Presentation of Vila Nogueira de Azeitão - São Lourenço

Vila Nogueira de Azeitão - São Lourenço Commune was one of the pre-2013 communes of Setúbal Municipality; it had 11 638 inhabitants in 2011 and covered 47.7 km².
This former commune, named Freguesia de São Lourenço de Azeitãão (or Freguesia de São Lourenço (Setúbal) etc.) for St. Lawrence to match the Catholic parish, but seated on a settlement named Vila Nogueira de Azeitão (and therefore the expected name Freguesia de Vila Nogueira de Azeitão, analogue to most other communes, being likely to be found), was suppressed in 2013 (one of the five communes of Setúbal municipality to be thusly affected) to join its kin St. Simon in forming the new commune of Azeitão.
Source: Portuguese WIKIPEDIA
António Martins-Tuválkin, 2 Apr 2017


Former Vila Fresca de Azeitão - São Simão commune (until 2013)

[Vila Fresca de Azeitão - São Simão commune (until 2013)] 2:3 image by António Martins-Tuválkin, 2 Apr 2017

It is an almost fully typical (and 100% lawful) Portuguese communal flag, with the coat of arms centred on a plain white field.
António Martins-Tuválkin, 2 Apr 2017

Coat of arms

[Vila Fresca de Azeitão - São Simão commune CoA (until 2013)] image by Sérgio Horta, 1 Apr 2017

Shield Or, a lumberman's saw Gules, in chief a cross of St. James, both flanked by two olive branches Vert fruited Sable, base wavy of fourVert and Argent. Mural crown Argent with three visible towers (village rank) and Or scroll reading in black upper case letters "SÃO SIMÃO DE AZEITÃO".
Meaning:
The saw on the arms, the attribute of St. Simon the Zealot, is canting for the commune's patron and official namesake, while the olive branches are canting for the wider region, Azeitão (as said, a cognate of "azeite" = "olive oil"); the St. James cross stands, as usual, for the importance of the Order in this region. The scroll - described heraldically, as Or, and not simply called yellow, - is unusual but not atypical: Indeed the law doesn't prescribe scrolls to be Argent/white. Even though that only a few are not, and surely when the flag is white a non-white scroll is slightly less rare.
Source: this webpage
António Martins-Tuválkin, 2 Apr 2017 2017

Published in Diário da República: III Série on 26 November 1994
António Martins-Tuválkin, 2 Apr 2017


Presentation of Vila Fresca de Azeitão - São Simão

Vila Fresca de Azeitão - São Simão Commune was one of the pre-2013 communes of Setúbal Municipality; it had 7239 inhabitants in 2011 and covered 21.6 km².
This former commune, named Freguesia de São Simão de Azeitãão (or Freguesia de São Simão (Setúbal) etc.) for St. Simon to match the Catholic parish, but seated on a settlement named Vila Fresca de Azeitão (and therefore the expected name Freguesia de Vila Fresca de Azeitão, analogue to most other communes, being likely to be found), was suppressed in 2013 (one of the five communes of Setúbal municipality to be thusly affected) to join its kin St. Lawrence in forming the new commune of Azeitão.
Source: Portuguese WIKIPEDIA
António Martins-Tuválkin, 2 Apr 2017


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