Sant Joan de Vilatorrada
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Heraldry of the World Civic heraldry of Spain - Heraldica Española |
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SANT JOAN DE VILATORRADA
Region : Catalonia
Province : Barcelona
Official blazon
Escut caironat: de sinople, 2 torres, la de la dreta d'or tancada de gules, i la de la sinistra d'argent tancada de sable, acompanyades en cap d'una corona reial d'or ressaltant sobre un ceptre també d'or posat en barra. Per timbre una corona mural de poble.
Origin/meaning
These arms have been officially granted on 9th February 1984.
This village developed in the boundaries of what we call Catalunya Vella (Old Catalonia), that's to say a frontier area between the Catalan counties and the Muslim lands; because of that, there were plenty of watchtowers in the territory. This is the meaning of Vilatorrada, "towered town". Thus, the arms are canting. The towers are two, symbolizing the main villages of the municipality: Sant Joan de Vilatorrada (the present day chief town) and Sant Martí de Torroella (the former and traditional chief town, with Torroella deriving from Latin TURRICELLA, "little tower").
The royal crown and the sceptre are the attributes of the Virgin Mary, the local patron saint of Joncadella, another village in the municipality.
Literature : Image taken from Wikipedia; background from Enric Fontvila, Barcelona.