Last modified: 2014-07-26 by klaus-michael schneider
Keywords: santo antonio da serra(sta. cruz) | cross(st.anthony) | trees(2) | hill |
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![[Sto. António da Serra Commune (Sta. Cruz) commune]](../images/p/pt-scrsa.gif)
2:3 image by Klaus-Michael Schneider, 6 Mar 2012
It is an untypical Portuguese communal flag, with the coat of arms centred on a background quarterly divided into green and yellow.
Shield or in base a hill vert having three peaks, on the hill are two trees vert fruited gules. On the central chiefpoint is a couped Greek cross gules with 12 acorns vert , three at either end of the cross. Mural crown argent with three visible towers. Beneath the shield is a white scroll having an inscription in black capitals: "SANTO ANTÓNIO DA SERRA - SANTA CRUZ"
Meaning:
The hill is a canting element - "_serra_" (litt. "saw") means hill or mountain range. The acorn cross is the cross of St. Anthony of Lisbon and Padova, communal patron; this is the completing canting element. There are 12 communes in Portugal named after this saint (one of them already covered in
FotW-ws at
António Martins-Tuválkin, 6 Mar 2012
In the early 16th century the first inhabitants in Santo António da Serra settled down for good. In the 17th century it became an independent commune and was part of Machico municipality. From 1836 to 1848 the commune of Água da Serra was incorporated into Santo António da Serra. In 1852 a few settlement cores of the municipality were divested to the municipality of Santa Cruz. Due to discontentedness of the aggrieved parties the border between both municipalities was modified and fixed in 1862. Since then there are two communes having the same name with the municipality's name as appendix.
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 21 July 2014
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