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Last modified: 2020-03-28 by ivan sache
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Flag of Argès - Image by Ivan Sache, 8 September 2019
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The municipality of Argès (6,341 inhabitants in 2018 vs. 538 in 1950 and 2,477 in 2000; 2,374 ha; municipal website) is located 10 km south-west of Toledo.
Argès was already settled by the Celtiberians, as evidenced by a
zoomorphic statue dated c. 300 BC. Argès might have been named for an
Arab word meaning "dung", as a reference to the numerous farms that once
thrived in the area, or the Greek word "argos", "shining".
Located close to Toledo on a main way of communication, Argès was soon
settled by landlords from Toledo. Among them was Samuel ben Meir Ha-Levi
Abulafia (c. 1320-1360), Treasurer of King Peter I the Cruel and founder
of the El Transito synagogue in Toledo.
Ivan Sache, 8 September 2019
The flag of Argès is prescribed by an Order issued on 2 September 1996
by the Government of Castilla-La Mancha and published on 20 September
1996 in the official gazette of Castilla-La Mancha, No. 42, p. 4,618 (text).
The flag is described as follows:
Flag: Rectangular, in proportions 2:3, green with a yellow stripe placed diagonally from the upper hoist to the lower fly, whose width is not given.
The coat of arms of Argès is prescribed by an Order issued on 2
September 1996 by the Government of Castilla-La Mancha and published on
20 September 1996 in the official gazette of Castilla-La Mancha, No. 42,
p. 4,618 (text).
The coat of arms is described as follows:
Coat of arms: Per pale, 1. Argent a tower gules port and windows azure on waves, 2. Or a bend vert cantonned by two olive trees of the same. The shield surmounted by a Spanish Royal crown.
The tower represents the Cervatos tower, the only remaining part of
medieval Argès. Located three-quarters of a league from Argès, the tower
was erected on the highest point of the Cervatos estate. A village might
have existed near the tower in the past. The first owner of the estate
was Munio Alfonso, a knight who supported Alfoso VI in the reconquest of
Toledo. The estate was subsequently transferred to the Archbishop of
Toledo, who let build the tower to protect the domains against brigands.
The estate was acquired in 1700 by Cardinal Portocarrero.
[Municipal website]
The waves represent river Guajaraz, which was the location of the
earliest settlement in Argès, as evidenced by several archeiological
sites. The Romans built an aquaduct to bring water from the river to the
town of Toledo.
The bend represents the road of Toledo to Córdoba, of Roman origin, around which the modern town of Argès thrived.
The olive tree represents agriculture as a main source of income in the
past. The olive tree, whose cultivation was increased in the 18th
century, is the most common tree in Argès.
[Municipal website]
A seal used by the Municipal Beneficience in the 19th century, kept in
the National Historical Archives and forgotten by the municipality,
features a tree, maybe an olive tree.
[José Luis Ruz Márquez & Ventura Leblic García. Heraldica municipal de la Provincia de Toledo. 1983; Municipal website]
Ivan Sache, 8 September 2019
