![[Village of Paola (Malta)]](../images/m/mt-45.gif)
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image by Jorge Hurtado and António Martins-Tuválkin, 6 June 2007
Last modified: 2016-11-19 by rob raeside
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3:5
image by Jorge Hurtado and António Martins-Tuválkin, 6 June 2007
See also:
It is a white flag with a red stripe at the top edge which would be a chief
according to heraldic terms. The red stripe is superimposed by three yellow
spirals ordered horizontally and connected with one another spread out over 2/3
of total width. In the white field there are three blue peacocks standing on top
of yellow garbs with red ribbons ordered in a triangular formation two above
one. The flag was adopted on 20 July 1996 by the local government (see source
given above).
Meaning:
The new flag is a mixture of the municipality's old
coat of arms and that one of Grand Master Antoine de Paule,
to whom probably the name of the village refers. The three stars have been
replaced by spirals and they put three peacocks instead of one from the grand
masters coat of arms.
Source: I spotted this flag in front of the local
council building on 2 October 2008.
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 16
October 2008
All the images I have found of the Paola coat-of-arms - of which the flag is supposed to be an armorial banner of - show three peacocks. According to a quote by Norbert Rizzo Naudi Ralf Hartemink's International Civic Arms website:
Paola's arms show three spirals on the top part: this is an engraving depicting the continuity of life. It is engraved on the Neolithic temples found in this locality. The three peacocks in the lower part are derived from the arms of the original founder of the town: Grand Master Antoine de Paule.The "Neolithic temples" are probably the Hal Saflieni Hypogeum. The arms of Grand Master Antoine de Paule can be seen in this webpage.
Sources:
Santiago Dotor, 2 March 2006
According to this webpage:
http://www.geocities.com/sf_depaule/gm_depaule.htm (no longer available):
"Many people decided to move to Valletta when the capital city was built —
this created an overpopulation problem. The same had happened in the area
surrounding Vittoriosa when this was the capital city — in fact this resulted in
the building of Cospicua and Senglea. However this time, for reasons of security
to the fortifications, the Order of St. John did not want to issue any permits
for settlements in front of Valletta’s bastions. "As a solution, G.M. De Paule
ordered a new village to be built on the hill known as "Ta L-Gherien"
(translated literally — "Of the Caves"). This hill was nearer to the harbour
than Tarxien, which was already an established village. It was an ideal place
for those people who lived in villages far from their place of work. The G.M.
gave this order in 1626 — but his plan did not succeed. The people living in
Valletta sustained that this new village was not protected since bastions did
not surround it. Others were not willing to leave their present village, which
usually was their place of birth, to go and live to a new village. The knights
arrival to Malta resulted in the cities becoming more protected and so the only
way to convince people to move was that their new place would be secured by
fortifications. To encourage the people to go and live G.M. de Paule built a new
church dedicated to St. Ubaldesca. (...)"
Santiago Dotor, 16 March
2006
![[Village of Paola (Malta)]](../images/m/mt-45_jh.gif)
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image by Jorge Hurtado and António Martins-Tuválkin, 6 June 2007
Blazon: Argent a peacock Azure issuant from a garb Or ribboned Gules on a chief of the last an ancient meander Or.
Željko Heimer, 13 November 2002
This one-peacock depiction is probably wrong or, at best, a marginal variant
based on the blazon above.
António Martins-Tuválkin, 6 June 2007
This lone peacock comes from the personal arms of Grand Master Antoine de Paule,
from the langue of Provence: Argent a peacock displayed proper and on a chief
Azure three mullets Or.
António Martins-Tuválkin, 7 June 2007
![[Village of Paola (Malta)]](../images/m/mt-45_o.gif)
image by
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 16 October 2008
The previous arms (and flag) of Raħal Ġdid, as reported by Jaume Ollé and confirmed
by several older Maltese local armorials on line, notably Tony Catania's, were
simply Gules a spiral Or. A banner of arms of this design can be made. The above
mentioned Tony Catania's Maltese Local Council Armorial (on line at
http://www.searchmalta.com/local_councils), had its 1997 original (at
http://searchmalta.com/local_councils, updated on 2002). One of the changes
is Paola, from the spiral on red to the three peacocks with chief, which allows
to date the change over roughly to the end of the 20th Century.
The
changed arms in Raħal Ġdid seem to go in the opposite direction of all others we've
seen so far, which have abandoned personal (or family) coats of arms either to
totally new or at least differenced heraldic arrangements. In that regard, the
new chief filled with the previous arms and the three peacocks where the
magisterial arms show a single one may though be taken as an effort to connect
to a Grand Master without usurping its coat of arms, which is to be saluted as
mature heraldry.
Even though Raħal Ġdid (Paola) doesn't seem to be nicknamed "città de
Paule", the onomatopoeic connection is evident.
António Martins-Tuválkin,
7 June 2007
Description of flag 1994-1996:
It is a red flag with a yellow spiral
symbolizing the eternity of life. The spirals were made by the very first
inhabitants of the archipelago on the walls of the local prehistoric temples.
Source:
George Cassar: Paola; storja u kultura; damma tá tagħlim, tagħrif u taħriġ, Marsa 2003, p.9
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 16 October 2008
![[Village of Paola football flag]](../images/m/mt@45.jpg)
image located by Immanuel Mifsud, 19 November 2016
The football club is called Hibernians FC (not to be confused with the Scottish club Hibernian),
and uses white and black as colours.
Immanuel Mifsud, 19 November 2016
![[Village of Paola football flag]](../images/m/mt@45).gif)
image located by Immanuel Mifsud, 19 November 2016
A picture of the club's logo since 2000.
Immanuel Mifsud, 19 November 2016
