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Montizón (Municipality, Andalusia, Spain)

Flag of Montizón - Image from the Símbolos de Jaén website, 27 August 2019

Presentation of Montizón
Symbols of Montizón
Former symbols of Montizón

See also:

Presentation of Montizón

The municipality of Montizón (1,716 inhabitants in 2018; 21,193 ha; municipal website) is located on the border with Castilla-La Mancha (Province of Ciudad Real), 120 km north-east of Jaén and 70 km north-east of Linares. The municipality is composed of the villages of Montizón (68 inh.), Aldeahermosa (999 inh.), and Venta de los Santos (826 inh.).

Montizón was already a place of transit in the Prehistoric times, due to its strategic location between Levante, Mancha and the valley of the Guadalquivir. Arrows equipped with stone heads, axes and cut stones were found in Torre-Alber, while pieces of pottery were found in Cabeza Chica. Remains of a Roman road are documented near Aldeahermosa; a post was found that indicates the distance of that place to Contrebia, in the valley of Ebro. The road was identified as Hannibal's Road. At the time, the area was ruled by the town of Ilugo (Santisteban del Puerto), as evidenced by an engraved stone excavated in Venta de los Santos.

The area was reconquered in 1226 by King Ferdinand the Saint. Due to the boom of sheep-breeding, the small farm originally established by the Muslims was abandoned in the 14th-15th centuries, the area being converted into pastures (dehesa) managed by Santiesteban del Puerto.
In 1767, the desert area, known as Barranco Hondo, was selected by Pablo de Olivade as part of the New Settlements of Sierra Morena and Andalusia, according to the colonization plan ordered by Charles III. The first German, Flemish, Swiss, Alsatian, French and Italian colonists settled in the three villages of Montizón, Aldeahermosa and Venta de los Santos. Montizón, then the capital of the district, was originally composed of only six houses, a church and a grain barn. One century later, the village had consolidated; in the middle of the 19th century, it counted 408 houses inhabited by 352, and a school as well.
Montizón was made a municipality in 1808, to be incorporated in 1888 to Castellar and made independent again in 1906.

Ivan Sache, 27 August 2019

Symbols of Montizón

The flag and arms of Montizón, adopted on 23 May 2019 by the Municipal Council and submitted on 10 June 2019 to the Directorate General of the Local Administration, are prescribed by a Resolution adopted on 17 June 2018 by the Directorate General of the Local Administration and published on 4 July 2019 in the Andalusian official gazette, No. 127, pp. 110-111 (text).
The symbols are described as follows:

Flag: Composed of three horizontal stripes, celestial blue, white, and celestial blue, the white stripe twice wider. The coat of arms shall be in height 2/5 of the flag's width and be placed in the center of the white stripe. The shield's axis shall be placed at a distance from the hoist of one half of the flag's width.
Coat of arms: Quarterly, 1. Gules a cross argent charged with a Cross of Saint James gules (red), 2. Argent an olive tree with three roots vert (green), 3. Argent a lion rampant purpure langued and armed gules crowned or, 4. Gules (red) a castle or port and windows azure (blue) masoned sable (black). A bordure or with the letters sable "N" dexter, "P" in chief, "D" sinister, and "Sierra Morena" in base. The shield surmounted by a Royal crown closed.

The flag is based on the ribbon of the Royal and Distinguished Spanish Order of Charles III, which was established by Royal Letters issued on 19 September 1771. On the ribbon converge, on one side blue, the color traditionally assigned to the Immaculate Conception, co-patron of the Kingdoms of Spain since 1761, also patron of the New Settlements and of the parish of Montizón, to whom the parish church is dedicated, and, on the other side, blue, the color of the Borbonic dynasty, to which Charles III belonged.

The Spanish-French shape of the shield and the Royal crown closed recalls that Montizón was founded by Charles III.
The first quarter features a Cross of St. John the Baptist, to which the chapel, subsequently church of Aldeahermosa is dedicated, superimposed with a Cross of Saint James, recalling that the Order of Saint James ruled the Vicary of Beas, which had jurisdiction over Montizón and owned the chapel of Nazareth, subsequently dedicated to the Christ of Expiration. The second quarter feature one of the most important crops in the area, recalling the colonization of new lands in the Sierra Morena. The three roots symbolize the three villages of Montizón, Aldehahermosa, and Ventas de los Santos.
The third and fourth quarter feature Charles III's Royal arms, taken from the arms of the Intendancy of the New Settlements and representing the origin of the municipality by the Royal Charter granted in 1767. On the bordure, the writing N(ueva) P(oblación) D(e) Sierra Morena, taken from the municipal seal used in 1853.
[Símbolos de Jaén]

Ivan Sache, 27 August 2019

Former symbols of Montizón

Former flag of Montizón, two versions - Images by Ivan Sache, 27 August 2019

The former, unofficial flag of Montizón (photo) had the lower stripe green instead of blue, therefore similar to the flag of the New Settlements, charged with the former coat of arms skewed to the hoist.
The flag was also used with a bigger coat of arms, overlapping the blue and red stripes, and with a gray scroll inscribed with the town's name beneath the shield (photo).

The former coat of arms, designed by Casiano Roa Ramiro and approved in 1951 by the municipality, was "Quarterly, 1. Or a cross flory or, 2. Vert a double-headed eagle or, 3. Sable a griffin or, 4. Gules a castle or. A bordure or charged with the letters sable "N" dexter, "P" in chief, "D" sinister, and "Sierra Morena" in base. The shield surmopunted by a Royal crown open and placed on a yellow cartouche.
The cross is in the chapel of the Holy Christ of Inspiration in Venta de los Santos, recalling Charles III. The eagle is a symbol of defense. The dragon-shaped griffin is represented in an attack posture. The castle represents the shelter offered to travelers crossing the Sierra Morena.
[Símbolos de Jaén]

Ivan Sache, 27 August 2019