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Mesão Frio Municipality (Portugal)

Concelho de Mesão Frio, Distrito de Vila Real

Last modified: 2014-11-08 by klaus-michael schneider
Keywords: mesao frio | mountains(3) | snow | grape | base(wavy) |
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[Mesão Frio municipality] 2:3 image by Sérgio Horta, 15 July 2007
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About the flag

It is fairily typical portuguese municipal flag, with the coat of arms centered on a quartered background (town rank), yellow and blue. Flag and arms adopted and published in the official journal Diário do Governo : I Série in 1936.03.26.
António Martins, 15 Jul 2007

Coat of arms

Mesão Frio municipality
image by Sérgio Horta, 16 Jul 2007

The arms are Gules issuant from a campaign Argent wavy charged with a fess wavy Azure three coupeaux Sable snowed Argent between two bunches of grapes Or and on the heart of the chief a bundle of three diminute ears of wheat Or. Mural crown argent with four visible towers (town rank) and white scroll reading in black upper case letters "Vila de Mesão Frio".
António Martins, 15 Jul 2007


Version without the coat of arms

Mesão Frio plain flag
image by António Martins, Apr 2010

Presentation of Mesão Frio

Mesão Frio municipality had 4926 inhabitants in 2001 and consists of 7 communes covering 26,85 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.
António Martins, 15 Jul 2007

"Frio" means "cold", so the snow in these arms might be canting; "mesão" does’t have a regular meaning but popular etymology points to either "long month" or "large table" — both probably bogus and neither shown in the arms. Ears and grapes are probably trivial references to local agriculture.
António Martins, 15 Jul 2007

Actually, "mesão" is an orographic term, meaning a large "mesa". And fits well with local geography, with the town built on an elevation overlooking the Douro river.
Jorge Candeias, 17 Jul 2007


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