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Collado Mediano (Municipality, Community of Madrid, Spain)

Last modified: 2020-10-08 by ivan sache
Keywords: collado mediano |
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Flag of Collado Mediano, current (official) and former (unofficial) versions - Images by Ivan Sache, 1 April 2018


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Presentation of Collado Mediano

The municipality of Collado Mediano (6,780 inhabitants in 2014; 2,257 ha; municipal website) is located in the north-west of the Community of Madrid, 50 km of Madrid.

Collado Mediano was first mentioned in the late 13th century, as part of the Real de Manzanares. This domain was granted in 1383 by King John I to his majordomo, Pedro González de Mendoza. His nephew, Iñigo López de Mendoza, was made Count of the Real de Manzanares and Marquis of Santillana by John II.
The status of villa was granted in 1630 to Collado Mediano by Ana de Mendoza.

The archeological site of El Beneficio yielded remains of a Roman road, identified as a branch of the road connecting Emerita Augusta (Mérida) to Caesaraugusta (Zaragoza) through the Sierra de Guadarrama. The branch is represented on the Antonine Itinerary as connecting Segovia to Complutum (Alcalá de Henares), via Miaccum and Titulcia.
While the Roman aqueduct is the strongest evidence of the Roman presence in Segovia, very few remains ere found on the part of the road crossing the Community of Madrid, therefore the significance of the site of Collado Mediano is questioned. Excavations performed in 2003 in El Beneficio yielded a quadrangular building including thermae, a kitchen, a big dining room and a dormitory; the building was identified as the "lost" inn (mansio) of Miaccum, shown on the Antonine Itinerary but lost in the midst of age.

Ivan Sache, 5 July 2015


Symbols of Collado Mediano

The flag and arms of Collado Mediano, adopted on 21 December 2016 by the Municipal Council and modified on 21 March 2017 as suggested on 27 February 2017 by the Royal Academy Matritense of Heraldry and Genealogy and on 21 March 2017 by the Royal Academy of History, are prescribed by an Agreement adopted on 31 October 2017 by the Government of the Community of Madrid and published on 17 November 2017 in the official gazette of the Community of Madrid, No. 274, pp. 31-33 (text) and on 18 November 2017 in the Spanish official gazette, No. 280, pp. 111,409-111,411 (text).
The symbols are described as follows:

Flag: Rectangular panel in proportions 2:3. Divided into three horizontal stripes, the upper and the lower, red, and the central, white, in width twice the other stripes.
Coat of arms: Per fess, 1. Quarterly per saltire, 1. and 4. Vert a bend gules fimbriated or, 2. Or the writing Ave in letters sable from bottom to top, 3. Or the writing María in letters sable from top to bottom, 2. Azure rocks argent with a hole sable in the center on a vase vert surrounded by two trees proper. The shield surmounted by a Royal Spanish crown.

Oddly enough, the flag is described and illustrated without the arms, while all the unofficial versions used hitherto feature it.

Diego Hurtado de Mendoza y Figueroa (1415/1417-1479), the elder son of Íñigo López de Mendoza, First Marquis of Santillana, was made Duke of the Infantado (full title, "Duque de las Cinco Villas del Estado del Infantado") in 1475; subsequently, the Dukes of the Infantado were made first-rank Grandees of Spain, and were therefore allowed to wear their hat in the presence of the king. Íñigo de Arteaga y Martín (b. 1941) is the 19th Duke of the Infantado.
"Vert a bend gules fimbriated or" are the oldest known arms of Mendoza; subsequently modified several times, the arms always included a red bend on a green field. The arms quartered per saltire were introduced by the first Marquis of Santillana and appear on a seal dated 1440; the marquis quartered his father's arms (Mendoza) with his mother's arms (de la Vega). His descendants were known as Mendoza de Guadalajara or Mendoza de l'Ave María. In the representations of these arms, the first quarter is inscribed with "AVE MARÍA" while the third quarter is inscribed with "PLENA GRATIA" (or, at least "GRATIA").
[José Luis García de Paz (UAM), Los poderosos Mendoza website]

The Cobañera rocks (photo), the most emblematic element of the natural environment of Collado Mediano, are part of the Sierra del Castillo (1,343 m).

Ivan Sache, 1 April 2018


Former symbols of Collado Mediano

The flag used beofre the official adoption of the symbols (photos, photo, photos, photos, video) features a slightly different rendition of the coat of arms, "Per fess, 1. Quarterly per saltire, 1. and 4. Vert a bend gules fimbriated or, 2. and 3. Or the legend 'Ave María' in letters sable, 2. Azure the Cobañera rocks proper. The shield surmounted by a coronet. Beneath the shield a scroll or inscribed 'COLLADO MEDIANO' in letters sable".

Ivan Sache, 1 April 2018