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Gáfete Commune (Portugal)

Freguesia de Gáfete, Concelho de Crato, Distrito de Portalegre

Last modified: 2014-11-08 by klaus-michael schneider
Keywords: gafete | pick | cross(maltese) | bezant |
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[Gáfete commune] 2:3 image by Sérgio Horta,
See also:

About the Flag

It is a typical Portuguese communal flag, with the coat of arms centred on a yellow and red quartered field.
António Martins-Tuválkin,

Coat of arms

[Gáfete commune CoA#1]
image by Sérgio Horta, 18 Oct 2010
[Gáfete commune CoA#2]
image by Sérgio Horta and Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 18 Oct 2010
   

The arms are Gules two picks Or hafts downward Argent crossed per saltire, in central chief a Maltese cross and seven bezants all in orle. Mural crown Argent with four visible towers (town rank) and white scroll reading "GÁFETE - CRATO" in black upper case letters.
Meaning:
According to Sérgio Horta the pikes stand for local cutback of granite quarries, the cross for the local importance of the St. John's Order of Malta, and the bezants for the local cheese.
António Martins-Tuválkin and Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 18 Oct 2010

Flag and arms adopted and published in the official journal Diário da República: III Série on 25 November 2003
António Martins-Tuválkin,


Presentation of Gáfete

Gáfete Commune is one of the four communes of Crato Municipality (q.v.); it had 1063 inhabitants in 2001 and covers 46,11 km².
António Martins-Tuválkin, 18 Oct 2010

But considering the description "in orle", may I suggest a slight change of the positions of the lower bezants, and which also naturally centres the picks more? . As the orle keeps the same distance from the edge of the shield, so should charges placed in orle. So, the lower bezants would end up slightly higher and further in. Then again, this may be the typical Portuguese heraldic way of doing this, in which case I'm just mumbling to myself about the differences in local interpretation, and you didn't hear me say anything, (-: * - Modified version of image by Sergio Horta of shield.

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