Law

According to the third article of the Statute of Autonomy of La Rioja, Organic Law 3/1982:

"The Autonomous Community of La Rioja has its own anthem

Anthem

The term anthem means either a specific form of Anglican church music , or more generally, a song of celebration, usually acting as a symbol for a distinct group of people, as in the term "national anthem" or "sports anthem".-Etymology:The word is derived from the Greek via Old English , a word...

 and coat of arms

Coat of arms

A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...

, and it will be able to be modified only by law of La Rioja Parliament, supported by two thirds of its members"

According to the sixth and seventh article of Law 4/1985, May 31 (BOLR n. 64, June 4):

"The coat of arms of La Rioja is, structurally, a parted one, crowned by the closed royal crown

Crown (headgear)

A crown is the traditional symbolic form of headgear worn by a monarch or by a deity, for whom the crown traditionally represents power, legitimacy, immortality, righteousness, victory, triumph, resurrection, honour and glory of life after death. In art, the crown may be shown being offered to...

. The first partition, or

Or (heraldry)

In heraldry, Or is the tincture of gold and, together with argent , belongs to the class of light tinctures called "metals". In engravings and line drawings, it may be represented using a field of evenly spaced dots...

, charged with the red cross of St. James on top of Laturce mount and supported by two pilgrim shells, tinctured in argent

Argent

In heraldry, argent is the tincture of silver, and belongs to the class of light tinctures, called "metals". It is very frequently depicted as white and usually considered interchangeable with it...

 and bordered in gules

Gules

In heraldry, gules is the tincture with the colour red, and belongs to the class of dark tinctures called "colours". In engraving, it is sometimes depicted as a region of vertical lines or else marked with gu. as an abbreviation....

. On the second partition, gules, an or castle with three merloned towers over a bridge mazoned sable

Sable

The sable is a species of marten which inhabits forest environments, primarily in Russia from the Ural Mountains throughout Siberia, in northern Mongolia and China and on Hokkaidō in Japan. Its range in the wild originally extended through European Russia to Poland and Scandinavia...

, and under it, a river argent. On the bordure, three fleur-de-lis

Fleur-de-lis

The fleur-de-lis or fleur-de-lys is a stylized lily or iris that is used as a decorative design or symbol. It may be "at one and the same time, political, dynastic, artistic, emblematic, and symbolic", especially in heraldry...

."

"The coat of arms of La Rioja can appear in the middle of the flag."

The arms must appear:

• In La Rioja Government and Parliament sites.
• On titles, honors and distinctions of Autonomous Community of La Rioja.
• In emblems used by authorities of the Community and members of regional parliament.

It also exists a simplified version of the arms, more simbolic and suitable for black and white and color sketch reproductions, according to Corporative Identity Manual, -Decree 20/2003, 20 May, which sets the Institutional Graphic identity of Autonomous Community of La Riojaand its President (BOR n. 70, June 5, 2003).

Heraldic description

A non-official description, but more theoretically correct according to classic heraldry would be:

"Per pale or, a cross of St. James gules between two escallops argent fimbriated gules, in base a mount vert

Vert

The colour green is commonly found in modern flags and coat of arms, and to a lesser extent also in the classical heraldry of the Late Middle Ages and the Early Modern period....

; and gules a castle triple towered, merloned, on a bridge, or masonned sable and pierced gules on a river barry wavy argent and azure; all within a bordure azure

Azure

In heraldry, azure is the tincture with the colour blue, and belongs to the class of tinctures called "colours". In engraving, it is sometimes depicted as a region of horizontal lines or else marked with either az. or b. as an abbreviation....

 charged with three fleurs-de-lis or, two on chief cantons and one in base"

History and meaning

The present shield was approved 5 April 1957 by decree of the Ministry of Governation, in order to be used by the, at that time, province of Logroño. Those were the same arms adopted by the Autonomous Community of La Rioja in 1985.

On the left side, the red cross of Santiago on top of Laturce mount (there, as a reminder of the Battle of Clavijo

Battle of Clavijo

The Battle of Clavijo was a legendary battle, supposedly fought in 844 near Clavijo between the Christians led by Ramiro I of Asturias and the Muslims led by the Emir of Córdoba. Saint James the Great, known to Spaniards as Santiago Matamoros , is reputed to have aided the vastly outnumbered...

) and pilgrim shells refer to the Way of St. James

Way of St. James

The Way of St. James or St. James' Way is the pilgrimage route to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia in northwestern Spain, where tradition has it that the remains of the apostle Saint James are buried....

, which crosses the geography of La Rioja from East to West.

On the right side, the castle has an integrating function, as all the largest municipalities (except Calahorra

Calahorra

Calahorra, , La Rioja, Spain is a municipality in the comarca of Rioja Baja, near the border with Navarre on the right bank of the Ebro. During ancient Roman times, Calahorra was a municipium known as Calagurris.-Location:...

) show a castle on their arms. Under it, the Ebro

Ebro

The Ebro or Ebre is one of the most important rivers in the Iberian Peninsula. It is the biggest river by discharge volume in Spain.The Ebro flows through the following cities:*Reinosa in Cantabria.*Miranda de Ebro in Castile and León....

 river flows, which irrigates the lands of La Rioja.

Both the fleur-de-lis and Royal Crown are distinctions given to the region by Spanish monarches as a recognition of its "heroic deeds performed". The fleur-of-lis come from the arms of the city of Logroño

Logroño

Logroño is a city in northern Spain, on the Ebro River. It is the capital of the autonomous community of La Rioja, formerly known as La Rioja Province.The population of Logroño in 2008 was 153,736 and a metropolitan population of nearly 197,000 inhabitants...

 and were granted by Carlos V

Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor

Charles V was ruler of the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 and, as Charles I, of the Spanish Empire from 1516 until his voluntary retirement and abdication in favor of his younger brother Ferdinand I and his son Philip II in 1556.As...

.

External links

• Coat of Arms of La Rioja according to regional government (Spanish)