Mendrisio commune (Ticino canton, Switzerland)

Last modified: 2024-09-28 by martin karner
Keywords: mendrisio | salorino | arzo | capolago | genestrerio | rancate | tremona | besazio | ligornetto | meride |
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• Mendrisio
• Arzo
• Besazio
• Capolago
• Genestrerio
• Ligornetto
• Meride
• Rancate
• Salorino
• Tremona

• Mendrisio district
• Ticino canton
• Switzerland

Mendrisio

Gules a cross argent.
Željko Heimer, 23 October 2003

On 4 April 2004 Salorino merged into Mendrisio. On 25 November 2007 the communes of Arzo, Capolago, Genestrerio, Mendrisio, Rancate and Tremona merged with Mendrisio, which kept its old emblem. On 14 April 2013 the communes of Besazio, Ligornetto and Meride joined (see below).

Arzo (until 24 November 2007)

Gules a cross argent and overall a cathedral or.
Željko Heimer, 22 October 2003

On the flag of Arzo, the white cross on red is similar to the ones of Lugano and Como (Italy). The cathedral alludes to the various contributions made by Arzo, mainly the material, for the building of the cathedral in Como, for the restoration of the facade of the "Broletto" in the same city in 1435 and for a part of the reliefs of the facade of the cathedral in Lugano.
Pascal Gross, 20 October 2003

Besazio (until 13 April 2013)

Gules a pair of compasses or in chief and in base a marble stone with a carved B proper.
Željko Heimer, 22 October 2003

The marble stone and the compasses on the flag of Besazio allude to the main activity of the population, stone hewing, in the marble quarries of Besazio.
Pascal Gross, 20 October 2003

The B on the stone might allude to the cyphers carved by the stone-cutters on the stones in order to be paid. Such marks are still visible on the stones used to build the cathedrals in Ile-de-France and elsewhere. It is possible that the cutters of Besazio signed their stones with such a B letter.
Ivan Sache, 21 October 2003

Capolago (until 24 November 2007)

Imapled: 1st per chevron lozengy argent and azure and of the first a castle with a tower gules and 2nd azure a printing press or machanism vert and in base three fillets wavy argent.
Željko Heimer, 22 October 2003

The tool on the flag of Capolago is a printing press. It symbolizes the historical "Tipografia Elvetica" of Capolago (1830–1853), which explains an important part of the movements that lead to the unification of Italy.
Pascal Gross, 21 October 2003

See also:   IMPALE(D) in Dictionary of Vexillology

Genestrerio (until 24 November 2007)

Azure in chief sinister a bundel of tobacco in chief dexter a bunch of grapes both or and in base a bunch of genista vert flowered or.
Željko Heimer, 23 October 2003

The plant on the flag of Genestrerio is a genista (in Italian ginestra) making the flag canting. The bundle of tobacco (which we also see on the flag of Henniez VD) and the bunch of grapes are the main plants cultivated in the village.
Pascal Gross, 23 October 2003

Ligornetto (until 13 April 2013)

Per bend gules and azure a bend argent between two corn ears or.
Željko Heimer, 23 October 2003

See also:   PER BEND in Dictionary of Vexillology

Meride (until 13 April 2013)

Quartered gules and argent in each chief quarters a mullet of eight counterchanged and overall on a fess or a gates with two towers azure.
Željko Heimer, 23 October 2003

See also:   QUARTERED in Dictionary of Vexillology

Rancate (until 24 November 2007)

Gules three trefoils or.
Željko Heimer, 26 October 2003

Salorino (until 3 April 2004)

Argent a lion passant azure witing an annulet gules and in the chief of the last letters C and S flanking a star of four also argent.
Željko Heimer, 27 October 2003

See also:   ANNULET in Dictionary of Vexillology

Tremona (until 24 November 2007)

Gules a grape tub argent ringed or filled with bunches of grapes and leaves also or atop copueux vert.
Željko Heimer, 27 October 2003

The flag of Tremona features what is called in Italian brenta, translated earlier as grape tub. With the mount of 3 coupeaux, the flag alludes to the name of the village which is, after the popular opinion, derived from tre monti (three mounts).
Pascal Gross, 26 October 2003