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Valencian Community (Spain)

Comunidad Valenciana, Comunitat Valenciana

2:3
image by Jaume Ollé
Flag adopted 10 Jul 1982

See also:

Description

I have pictures of the current flag, and the devices in the blue are in different order and they are a bit different in style. The arrangement of diamonds or rubis in the red vertical band is:

white (not golden) pearl
green diamond
white pearl
red ruby
white pearl
red ruby
white pearl
green diamond
white pearl

The last diamond and ruby are interchanged in the World Flag Database version. The shade of the blue must be light instead of dark. Except for the pictures I couldn't find any certainly correct image of the current flag. I have the text of the Symbols [flag and coat-of-arms] law but the description is unclear.

Jaume Ollé, 09 Dec 1998

The jewel arrangement described image by Jaume Ollé is the usual one in royal and princely crowns in Spain: rectangular- or oval-shaped green emeralds and diamond-shaped rubies, with white/silver pearls in between. There should always be a pearl between any two precious stones (emerald/ruby).

Santiago Dotor, 10 Dec 1998

According to Calvo and Grávalos 1983, drawing 666, the flag of the Comunidad Valenciana is defined in the Organic Law 5/82 of July 1st 1982, published in the Boletín Oficial del Estado number 164: Article 5, 1: "The traditional flag of the CV is made up of four red stripes on a yellow field crowned over a blue band by the hoist." 2. "A Law of the Cortes Valencianas [the autonomous parliament] may determine the heraldical symbols of the Community which shall contain those [arms] of the provinces of Castellón, Valencia and Alicante, and its incorporation to the flag over the stripes." The drawing is similar to Jaume's, with a ratio of 2:3, but the precious stones are -E-S-E-S- (E: emerald or green oval; S: sapphire or blue quatrefoil; each hyphen would represent a pearl or white circle), from bottom hoist to top. The width of the blue band (including the thin red stripe carrying the jewels) is about 1/5th of the fly.

Santiago Dotor, 11 Dec 1998

Proportions

1:2
image by Jaume Ollé

According to the text of the law the ratio is not fixed. The spirit of the Symbols [flag and coat-of-arms] law was 2:3 ["as the Spanish flag"] but the pictures show 1:2.

Jaume Ollé, 09 Dec 1998

Use

The valencian flag is the regional flag of the Valencian Community, as is established by the Estatuto (constitution) of the Autonomous Community of Valencia. The city of Valencia uses it as the city flag too.

Jordi Pérez, 25 Feb 2000

Flag Change Proposals

The electronic newspaper "Hispanidad" has a long article about a possible reform of the statutes of the Valencian Community ("Estatuto.- Las Cortes Valencianas rechazan incorporar una carta municipal específica para Valencia").

The main point covered in the article seems to be the adoption of a municipal chart for the city of Valencia. A paragraph near the end of the article mentions a possible change of the name and flag of the community:

La comisión también rechazó, en el debate de la mañana, las modificaciones planteadas por EU-Entesa al preámbulo y al título I del Estatuto para incluir cuestiones como una referencia a la "identidad nacional" de la Comunidad, el cambio de su denominación oficial por la de País Valenciano, la eliminación de la franja azul de la bandera oficial y la referencia a que el valenciano es una lengua compartida con las comunidades de Cataluña y Baleares.

The preamble and title I of the statutes would be modified to include a reference to the "national identity" of the community, its official name would be changed to País Valenciano, and the blue stripe would be removed from the official flag.

Source: Hispanidad, 29 Jun 2005

On the Valencian historical-flags page, Santiago Dotor notes that "There seems to be an ongoing argument in Valencia on whether the blue stripe with open crown device beside the hoist is a traditional part of the flag or dates only from mid-19th century." So, there seems to be a serious controversy on the blue stripe of the Valencian flag!

Ivan Sache, 04 Jul 2005

1977/1978 Proposal

image by Klaus-Michael Schneider, 24 Mar 2009

Self-government 11 March 1978. Given in Petra Sancta code; it is not clear whether this flag was merely a proposal. It is a yellow flag divided by four red horizontal stripes with a vertical blue stripe at the hoist; ratio is 2:3. Note that the same flag is given on p.190 of [ped79a] as that of the Balearic Islands.

Source: [ped79a]; p.189

Klaus-Michael Schneider, 24 Mar 2009