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Peraleda de la Mata (Municipality, Extremadura, Spain)

Flag of Peraleda de la Mata - Image by Ivan Sache, 21 March 2020

Presentation of Peraleda de la Mata
Flag of Peraleda de la Mata

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Presentation of Peraleda de la Mata

The municipality of Peraleda de la Mata (1,390 inhabitants in 2018 vs. 3;380 in 1950; 9,206 ha; municipal website) is located on the border with Castilla-La Mancha (Province of Toledo), 120 km north-east of Cáceres and 10 km south-east of Navalmoral de la Mata.

Peraleda de la Mata was the capital of Campana de la Mata, a socio-religious organization established under the aegis of the Diocese of Plasencia.
Peraleda de la Mata was granted the status of villa in the 17th century by Philip IV.

The funerary complex of Guadalperal, located in the estate of the same name, 5 km east of Peraleda de la Mata, is among the most significant megalithic monuments in Extremadura.
The monument was discovered and excavated in 1925-1927 by Hugo Obermaier (1877-1946). A noted paleontologist, Obermaier was also the chaplain of the House of Alba; he spent vacation in the Guadalperal estate, invited by the Duke of Peñaranda. The investigations were completed by Georg (1870-1957) and Vera (1885-1972) Leisner.
The monument is a big open tomb covered by a tumulus, built with stones extracted 5 km away. Out of them, 140 are still standing. The funerary chamber formed an oval of 5 m in greater diameter, supported by 13 stones, of which four fell down. The corridor has a width of 1.30-1.40 m. The whole complex is 21 m in length.
The excavation has yielded several artifacts indicating the presence of a collective tomb (tholoi) used from the Mesolithic to the Chalcolithic.
[Dolmen de Guadlaperal]

The establishment of the man-made Lake Valdecañas in 1963 caused the flooding of the site. The severe drought of summer 2019 caused a sharp decrease of the lake's water level, and, accordingly, a "resurrection" of the megaliths.
The Raíces de Peraleda association has asked the President of Extremadura to take the opportunity to relocate the stones in a place more suitable for their preservation.
[ABC, 21 August 2019]

Ivan Sache, 21 March 2020

Flag of Peraleda de la Mata

The flag (photo, photo, photo, photo, photo, photo, photo, photo) and arms of Peraleda de la Mata, adopted on 17 July and 26 November 1992 by the Municipal Council and validated on 23 June 1992 and 15 February 1993 by the Assessing Council of Honors and Distinctions of the Government of Extremadura, are prescribed by an Order issued on 25 February 1993 by the Government of Extremadura and published on 4 March 1993 in the official gazette of Extremadura, No. 27, pp. 651-652 (text).
The symbols are described as follows:

Flag: Rectangular flag, in proportions 2:3. Composed of five horizontal stripes, three white and two green, in proportions 1:7, 1:10, 1:2, 1:10, and 1:7 of the flag's hoist, respectively, the central stripe charged with the municipal coat of arms.
Coat of arms: Per pale, 1. A pear [peral] tree vert, 2a. Vert a bell [campana] argent, 2b. Or a bush [mata] of holly oaks vert. A bordure gules seven eight-pointed stars argent. The shield surmounted by a Royal crown closed.

The arms form a rebus of the place's name and of the former Campana de la Mata.

Ivan Sache, 21 March 2020