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La Gomera Island (Santa Cruz de Tenerife Province, Canary Islands, Spain)

Excelentísimo Cabildo Insular de La Gomera

as reported by José Manuel Erbez
~3:5
image by José Manuel Erbez as reported by Klaus-Michael Schneider
~8:15
image by Klaus-Michael Schneider, 10 Mar 2010

Description
Coat of Arms
Reverse
Former Proposals (unofficially used until 1999)
Municipality of Agulo
Municipality of Hermigua
Municipality of Vallehermoso

See also:

Island and Municipal Flags (Canary Islands, Spain)
Canary Islands (Spain)
Spain

Other sites:

Symbols of the Canary Islands by José Manuel Erbez

Description

La Gomera island has an official flag since May 30th 1999 (the day was chosen since it is the Canary Islands Day). It has been approved by the Cabildo Insular (island council) but not yet published in the Boletín Oficial. La Gomera's coat-of-arms is almost identical to that of Lanzarote island, the only differences in La Gomera being the crown (a count's crown, instead of a marquis' crown in Lanzarote) and a thin gold fimbriation between the field and the bordure (both gules as in Lanzarote). Otherwise, they are both "gules two cauldrons or, a bordure charged with cauldrons or."

José Manuel Erbez, 21 Jun 1999 [editor's translation from Spanish]

The official approval of the La Gomera coat-of-arms has just been published in the Boletín de Canarias number 1999/103 August 2nd 1999, including a brief descrption of its symbolism [and a PDF file with the official design].

José Manuel Erbez, 24 Aug 1999 [editor's translation from Spanish]

The objects in the upper left corner are: a "ganigo" (earthenware vase typical of the aboriginal culture) proper on a white silhouette of the island, and a white square sail with a green cross patée, representing Columbus' caravels, which made an intermediate stop at the island, and that is why it is called "the Columbian island."

José Manuel Erbez, 14 Dec 1999

The flag is a vertical red-white-red triband, ratio approx 8:15, the white stripe having double width. In the middle of the white stripe is the coat of arms of the island council. In the upper hoist corner, that is above left (visible), is a white silhouette of La Gomera Island being superimposed by a bowl, called “gánigo,” in natural colour (brownish). Beneath right also a white sail, trapezoidal, being superimposed by a green cross patty and overlaying the island’s silhouette. I spotted this flag at the town hall of San Sebastian de la Gomera on 11 February 2010.

The flag displayed by [ebz07] with a smaller coat of arms also exists. I spotted that flag in San Sebastian’s harbour. The flag above mentioned I spotted at the town hall. It was offered to me by a secretary within the town hall as “flag of San Sebastian.” But her information wasn’t trustworthy, because the coat of arms clearly is that one of the island council. Furthermore, there exists a proper coat of arms of San Sebastian, showing the so called count’s tower and the ships of Cristóbal Colon, so I trust [ebz07], who says that there is no proper flag of San Sebastian de la Gomera.

According to [ebz07] the flag was adopted by the assembly of the island council on 30 May 1999, the day of the Canary Islands. The reverse has the white silhouette of La Gomera Island being superimposed by a bowl, called “gánigo”, in natural colour (brownish) here is above right (visible), also in the upper hoist corner. The sail here is beneath left.

Klaus-Michael Schneider, 10 Mar 2010

Reverse

~8:15
image by Klaus-Michael Schneider, 10 Mar 2010

Coat of Arms

The coat of arms' shield is red with two golden bowls ordered vertically having a red bordure, fimbriated golden, with twelve smaller golden bowls. The shield is topped by a count’s coronet. The arms are those of Herrera family, which had the title of Counts of La Gomera in the past; the coronet also alludes to this fact. A branch line of this family became also Marquesses of Lanzarote, therefore a very similar coat of arms, topped by a marquesal coronet, can be found also on the island flag of Lanzarote.

Klaus-Michael Schneider, 10 Mar 2010

Former Proposals (unofficially used until 1999)

image by Jaume Ollé
image by António Martins

This unofficial flag competes with another proposal: five stripes of white, blue, red, blue, white.

Jaume Ollé, 01 Sep 1998

José Manuel Erbez's site says, "previously, the following two flags had been 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, more or less as Jaume Ollé's image above. The second is the one with stripes described image by Jaume Ollé.

Santiago Dotor, 23 Nov 2000