^{This page is part of © FOTW Flags Of The World website}

Ardegão, Freixo e Mato Commune (Portugal)

Freguesia de Ardegão, Freixo e Mato, Concelho de Ponte de Lima, Distrito de Viana do Castelo

2:3 image by Sérgio Horta, 6 July 2008
flag of former Mato Commune

Former Mata Commune (until 2013)
Presentation of Mata

See also:

Former Mata Commune (until 2013)

It is a fairly typical Portuguese communal flag, with the coat of arms centred on a plain blue field .
António Martins-Tuválkin, 6 July 2008

Coat of arms

image by Sérgio Horta, 6 July 2008

The arms are Argent a grill Azure set per pale and two oak branches Vert fruited Or all set in chevron. Mural crown argent with three visible towers (village rank) and white scroll reading in black upper case letters "MATO - PONTE DE LIMA".
Meaning:
"Mato" means bush, which may be canting for the oak branches. Perennial, thorny bush named carrascal very often in Portugal consists of thorny shrub Kermes Oak (Latin: Quercus coccifera). The grill stands for St. Lawrence, Catholic patron of the commune (or rather of the Catholic parish from which the commune was devised). The coat of arms (and the flag) was devised by Carlos Alberto Mouteira Fernandes. Authorship information is not given in the official sources.
António Martins-Tuválkin, 6 July 2008

Flag and arms adopted and published in the official journal Diário da República: III Série in 2002.06.06
António Martins-Tuválkin, 6 July 2008

Presentation of Mato

Mato Commune was one of the communes of the Ponte de Lima municipality (q.v.); it had 285 inhabitants in 2001 and covers 2,50 km².
António Martins-Tuválkin, 6 July 2008

back to Ponte de Lima Communes click here