Asturina, Azuleste [1] | |
Use | National flag and ensign |
---|---|
Proportion | 2:3 |
Adopted | December 19, 1990 (current version, as established in Law 4/1990) |
Design | The Victory Cross in yellow, off-centred toward the hoist, over blue. |
Use | Civil flag and ensign |
Proportion | 2:3 |
Adopted | 28 May 1785 (original naval ensign version) 5 October 1981 (current version, changed coat of arms) |
Design | The Victory Cross in yellow, centred, over blue. |
The flag of Asturias shows the "Cruz de la Victoria" (Victory Cross) in yellow (PMS 109) over blue (PMS 829).
According to the tradition, the Victory Cross was carried by Pelagius, first King of Asturias, in the decisive Battle of Covadonga against the Moors in 722. This battle, fought in the mountains of Asturias, was hailed by 19th and 20th century historiography as the start of the Reconquista, the Christian re-conquest of the Iberian peninsula from the Moorish domination. However, there is no historical evidence about the use of this cross.
In 908 the Asturian King Alfonso III the Great ordered that the original wooden cross, made of oak, be clad in gold and precious stones. Currently, it is kept in the Holy Chamber of the Oviedo Cathedral.
The Greek letters Alpha and Omega hang from its horizontal axis. This is a direct reference to the Book of Revelation (verses 1:8, 21:6, and 22:13), I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, says the Lord God, who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.
Scheme | Blue | Yellow |
---|---|---|
Pantone | 829 | 109 |
RGB | 0-102-255 | 247-212-23 |
HTML | #0066FF | #F7D417 |
The banners that might represent the early medieval Kingdom of Asturias are unknown, although a white ensign with a red border and a cross of the same color has been attributed as the royal flag of Ramiro I, as can be seen in tomb A of the Cathedral in Santiago of Compostela. Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos, an Asturian intellectual of the Enlightenment, led a note with his findings on the symbols of the Kingdom of Asturias, based on the older description of Lazaro Diaz del Valle an author of 17th Century. According to this instruction, the Victory Cross was gold on a scarlet background, i.e. the early colors of the church.
The origin of the flag of Asturias is in 1808, during the Peninsular War. As there was not any Spanish official flag yet, Asturians created the current flag, without any separatist intention in the war against the Napoleon's empire. [2] In its first version, it included the motto Asturias jamás vencida (Asturias never defeated).
The flag of Asturias with red star, also called plain Asturina, is a version of the flag of Asturias with a five-pointed red star on top of the pole and a cross in the middle, without the letters alpha and omega. This flag is associated with pro-independence, socialist and communists groups in Asturias. This variant comes from the cultural collective Conceyu Bable who developed it in the mid-1970s. Other Spanish regions also have variants of their flags with red stars, for example, in Galicia there is Estreleira.
Alfonso II of Asturias, nicknamed the Chaste, was the king of Asturias during two different periods: first in the year 783 and later from 791 until his death in 842. Upon his death, Nepotian, a family member of undetermined relation, attempted to usurp the crown in place of the future Ramiro I.
The Battle of Covadonga took place in 722 between the army of Pelagius the Visigoth and the army of the Umayyad Caliphate. Fought near Covadonga, in the Picos de Europa, it resulted in a victory for the Christian forces of Pelagius. It is traditionally regarded as the foundational event of the Kingdom of Asturias and thus the initial point of the Christian Reconquista ("reconquest") of Spain after the Umayyad conquest of 711.
The Kingdom of Asturias was a kingdom in the Iberian Peninsula founded by the Visigothic nobleman Pelagius. It was the first Christian political entity established after the Umayyad conquest of Visigothic Hispania in 711. In the Summer of 722, Pelagius defeated an Umayyad army at the Battle of Covadonga, in what is retroactively regarded as the beginning of the Reconquista.
Asturias officially the Principality of Asturias, is an autonomous community in northwest Spain.
Alfonso III, called the Great, was the king of León, Galicia and Asturias from 866 until his death. He was the son and successor of Ordoño I. In later sources, he is the earliest to be called "Emperor of Spain." He was also titled "Prince of all Galicia".
Oviedo or Uviéu is the capital city of the Principality of Asturias in northern Spain and the administrative and commercial centre of the region. It is also the name of the municipality that contains the city. Oviedo is located approximately 24 km (15 mi) southwest of Gijón and 23 km (14 mi) southeast of Avilés, both of which lie on the shoreline of the Bay of Biscay. Oviedo's proximity to the ocean of less than 30 kilometres (19 mi) in combination with its elevated position with areas of the city more than 300 metres above sea level causes the city to have a maritime climate, in spite of its not being located on the shoreline itself.
Ramiro I was king of Asturias from 842 until his death in 850. Son of King Bermudo I, he became king following a succession struggle after his predecessor, Alfonso II, died without children. During his turbulent reign, he fended off attacks from both Vikings and the forces of al-Andalus. Architecturally, his recreational palace Santa María del Naranco and other buildings used the ramirense style that prefigured Romanesque architecture. He was a contemporary of Abd ar-Rahman II, Umayyad Emir of Córdoba.
The Kingdom of León was an independent kingdom situated in the northwest region of the Iberian Peninsula. It was founded in 910 when the Christian princes of Asturias along the northern coast of the peninsula shifted their capital from Oviedo to the city of León. The kings of León fought civil wars, wars against neighbouring kingdoms, and campaigns to repel invasions by both the Moors and the Vikings, all in order to protect their kingdom's changing fortunes.
Alpha and omega are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, and a title of Christ and God in the Book of Revelation. This pair of letters is used as a Christian symbol, and is often combined with the Cross, Chi Rho or other Christian symbols. A and Z share the similarity with alpha and omega. The Hebrew equivalent is alef and tau.
Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos was a Spanish neoclassical statesman, author, philosopher and a major figure of the Age of Enlightenment in Spain.
The Metropolitan Cathedral Basilica of the Holy Saviour or Cathedral of San Salvador is a Roman Catholic church and minor basilica in the centre of Oviedo, in the Asturias region of northern Spain.
Pre-Romanesque architecture in Asturias is framed between the years 711 and 910, the period of the creation and expansion of the kingdom of Asturias.
The La Cava Bible or Codex Cavensis is a 9th-century Latin illuminated Bible, which was produced in Spain, probably in the Kingdom of Asturias during the reign of Alfonso II. The manuscript is preserved at the abbey of La Trinità della Cava, near Cava de' Tirreni in Campania, Italy, and contains 330 vellum folios which measure 320 by 260 mm.
Asturians are a Romance ethnic group with Celtic roots, native to the autonomous community of Asturias, in the North-West of the Iberian Peninsula.
The Victory Cross is an early 10th-century Asturian jewelled cross gifted by King Alfonso III of Asturias, who reigned from 866 to 910, to the Cathedral of San Salvador in Oviedo. It was made in 908 in the Castle of Gauzón.
The coat of arms of Asturias was adopted on 27 April 1984.
The Cross of the Angels is a pre-romanesque Asturian reliquary donated by Alfonso II of Asturias in the year 808 to the Church of San Salvador in Oviedo, Asturias (Spain). The Cross of the Angels is the symbol of the city of Oviedo.
The Holy chamber of Oviedo is a Roman Catholic pre-Romanesque church in Oviedo, Spain, built next to pre-romanesque Tower of San Miguel of the city's cathedral. Nowadays, the church occupies the angle between the south arm of the cathedral transept and a side of the cloister.
The Pantheon of Asturian Kings is a chapel of Nuestra Señora del Rey Casto in the Cathedral of San Salvador, Oviedo, Spain. It is the burial place of many of the rulers of the medieval kingdoms of Asturias and León.
The History of Asturias includes everything from when the Paleolithic tribes settled in the Cantabrian Coast to the modern post-industrial society of today. On the etymology of the term "Asturias", some think that its origin can be traced back to the name of the Astura river, whose inhabitants were called "astures" by the Roman authors.