Last modified: 2014-08-09 by klaus-michael schneider
Keywords: santa maria da feira | castle(silver) | st.mary |
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![[Santa Maria da Feira municipality]](../images/p/pt-smf.gif)
2:3 image by Sérgio Horta, 24 June 2007
It is a fairly typical Portuguese municipal flag, with the coat of arms centred on a white and red gyronny (city rank) background.
António Martins-Tuválkin, 24 June 2007
![[Santa Maria da Feira municipality CoA]](../images/p/pt-smf).gif)
image by Sérgio Horta, 24 June 2007
The arms are Azure above a castle Argent with port and windows Gules with four towers topped with conical roofs the Virgin Mary clad Gules and mantled Azure and nimbed Or and holding her Jesus babe unclad Proper. Mural crown argent with five visible towers (city rank) and white scroll reading in black upper case letters "SANTA MARIA DA FEIRA".
Meaning:
"Santa Maria da Feira" means "Saint Mary of the market / fair", . Saint Mary shows on the arms and is shown already before toponym change from "Market Town" to "Market Saint Mary" (a name which is probably blafemous). Curiously, the Catholic patron of this municipality is not Saint Mary, but Saint Nicholas. The castle of Santa Maria da Feira, the landmark of Feira, is a testament to the military architecture of the Middle Ages. It is the fulcrum of the history of the region, and an important point in the reconquest.
António Martins-Tuválkin, 24 June 2007
![[Santa Maria da Feira (town) municipality]](../images/p/pt-smf4.gif)
2:3 image by Sérgio Horta, 24 June 2007
As said, these arms and flag were adopted upon the upgrade of the municipality seat to city status, and its name change from "VILA DA FEIRA" to "SANTA MARIA DE FEIRA" in 1985.08.14 and are a slightly non-trivial change of the former arms and flag adopted and published in the official journal Diário do Governo : II Série in 1942.08.11. These included the usual town attributes: four visible crown towers and quartered flag(town rank), white and red.
António Martins-Tuválkin, 24 June 2007
Flag and arms in use since 1985.08.14, upon official upgrade to city status and name change, but apparently not officialized yet, according to Sérgio Horta. This might be due to the unheraldic nature of the representation of the castle, unsympathetic to the heraldic authority. (It was however the same heraldic authority who accepted this design back in 1942 (q.v.).)
![[Santa Maria da Feira municipality plain]](../images/p/pt-smf0.gif)
2:3 image by António Martins-Tuválkin, Apr 2010
Santa Maria da Feira municipality had 135 964 inhabitants in 2001 and consists of 21 communes covering 213,45 km².It is part of Aveiro District, traditional province Douro Litoral, 1999 ref. adm. region Entre Douro e Minho, current C.C.R. / NUTS II Norte, and NUTS III Entre Douro e Vouga.
António Martins-Tuválkin, 24 June 2007
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