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La Gomera (Island, Canary Islands, Spain)

Flag of La Gomera, two versions
- top, as seen on 11 February 2010 in the port of San Sebastián de la Gomera - Image by José Manuel Erbez;
- bottom, obverse and reverse of the flag seen on 11 February 2010 at the Town Hall of San Sebastián de la Gomera - Images by Klaus-Michael Schneider, 10 March 2010

Symbols of La Gomera
Unofficial flags of La Gomera
Municipalities on La Gomera

See also:

Symbols of La Gomera

The flag of La Gomera was adopted on 30 May 1999, the Day of the Canary Islands, by the Island Council of La Gomera.
The flag is vertically divided (1:2:1) red-white-red with the island's coat of arms in the middle. The canton is charged with a gánigo placed over a white map of the island and a green cross patty placed over a white sail.

The flag seen in the port is in proportions c. 3:5, with a smaller coat of arms. The flag seen at the Town Hall is in proportions c. 8:15, with a larger coat of arms. On the reverse of this flag, the emblems are placed at fly.

According to José Manuel Erbez (Banderas y escudos de Canarias, 2007; website), the gánigo, a pottery bowl typical of the Canarian native culture, over the island's silhouette symbolizes the native heritage of the island. The sail with the cross represents the caravels of Colombus that moored off the island, subsequently known as "Coombian island".

The coat of arms of La Gomera is prescribed by a Decree adopted on 25 June 1999 by the Government of the Canary Islands and published on 2 August 1999 in the official gazette of the Canary Islands, No. 103, pp. 11,682-11,683 (text). The coat of arms was originally adopted on 4 December 1998 by the Island Council, as published on 28 December 1998 in the official gazette of the Santa Cruz de Tenerife Province, No. 157, and validated on 11 March 1999 by the Heraldry Commission of the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands.
The coat of arms is described as follows:

Coat of arms: Gules two caldrons or one and one. A bordure gules 12 caldrons or of smaller size four two two and four. The shield surmounted by a Count's coronet.

The rationale for the design is the following.
The shield is based on historical criteria, related with the establishment of the Domain of the Canary Islands, granted by King John II to the lords of Las Casas. The design matches the coat of arms of the Herrera lineage, as the most representative of the early history of La Gomera, summarizing under this name all the lords and counts of the island who initiated the island's government. This coat of arms has been traditionally considered as representative of the island in all official acts since the establishment of island's governments.

The coat of arms of La Gomera is almost identical to that of Lanzarote, the only differences in La Gomera being the Count's coronet instead of the Marquis' coronet and a thin gold fimbriation between the field and the bordure.

Klaus-Michael Schneider, José Manuel Erbez & Ivan Sache, 10 March 2012

Unofficial flags of La Gomera

Unofficial flags of La Gomera - Images by Jaume Ollé and António Martins, respectively, 23 November 2000

Previous to the adoption of the today's flag, two flags were seen in some occasion, with unofficial character and surely with the only purpose of completing the set of seven islands when La Gomera was the only island with no flag. One shows the coat of arms on a white field, while the second is horizontally divided white-blue-red-blue-white.

Santiago Dotor, Jaume Ollé & José Manuel Erbez, 23 November 2000

Municipalities on La Gomera