Last modified: 2017-01-29 by ivan sache
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![[Flag]](../images/e/es-ma-vc.gif)
Flag of Villanueva de la Concepción - Image from the Símbolos de Málaga website, 24 September 2016
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The municipality of Villanueva de la Concepción (3,341 inhabitants in 2015, 6,737 ha; municipal website) is located 40 km north of Málaga and 20 km of Antequera.
Villanueva de la Concepción was once the site of the castle of Xébar, part of the fortified belt set up by the Nasrid to control the roads to Málaga. Following the conquest of Antequera on 4 September 1410 by Infante Ferdinand, the Nasrid seized the castle and destroyed it. After the fall of Granada, the place lost its strategic significance and the castle was never rebuilt; the area remained depopulated until the second half of the 18th century, when the Royal Road connecting Málaga to Madrid was built.
Villanueva de la Concepción was officially established, as a rural settlement, on 3 November 1880. Exemption of tax and military service granted to the colonists boosted the development of the town.
Villanueva de la Concepción was made an "entidad de ámbito territorial inferior al municipio" by a Resolution adopted on 25 February 1992 by the Government of Andalusia and published on 27 February 1992 in the official gazette of Andalusia, No. 16, p. 1,075 (text). This was first approved on 2 August 1991 by the Municipal Council of Antequera. The status of the entity was upgraded to "Entidad Local Autónoma" by Decree No. 8, adopted on 16 January 2001 by the Government of Andalusia and published on 13 February 2001 in the official gazette of Andalusia, No. 18, pp. 2,538-2,539 (text). The process of conversion was initiated on 23 September 1997 by the Village Council and approved on 10 September 1998 by the municipality of Antequera.
The establishment of the municipality of Villanueva de la Concepción, separating from Antequera, was prescribed by Decree No. 63, adopted on 17 March 2009 by the Government of Andalusia and published on 3 June 2009 in the Spanish official gazette, No. 134, pp. 47,262-47,266 (text).
The separation process was initiated on 20 October 2006 by the Village Council, the request being tabled on 22 May 2007 at the Government of Andalusia. On 24 February 2008, the municipality of Antequera appealed the limits prescribed to Villanueva de la Concepción; the dispute was eventually settled on 8 January 2009.
Ivan Sache, 24 September 2016
The flag of Villanueva de la Concepción (photo, photo, photo, photo) is horizontally divided blue-white-red (2:1:2) with the municipal coat of arms in the center. Neither the flag not the arms appear to have been officially adopted.
The coat of arms of Villanueva de la Concepción is "Quarterly, 1. Or a lion couchant sable on a pedestal gules, 2. Argent a castle gules, 3. Argent a "camorro tableado" on a base vert, 4. Or a branch of almond tree flowered proper. A bordure azure. The shield surmounted by a Royal crown closed."
The first quarter represent the Cerro del León (Lion's Hill), a mound located 2 km of Villanueva de la Concepción, once the site of the Roman town of Oscua. The colour of the pedestal matches that of the marble extracted from the Torcal mountain, which dominates the town - sometimes nicknamed Torcal's Town.
The second quarter represents the castle of Xébar. Gules recalls the defensive role of the castle.
The third quarter represents a karstic formation characteristic of the Torcal mountain.
The fourth quarter represents local agriculture. Or is a symbol of wealth.
The blue border represents the Blessed Virgin, clad in blue by Cano, Rivera, Murillo, and others, which is the town's namesake - for a yet unknown reason, though.
[Municipal website]
Ivan Sache, 24 September 2016