Asturias (Spain)

Principality of Asturias, Principado de Asturias

Last modified: 2001-09-22 by santiago dotor
Keywords: spain | asturias | principado de asturias | law | cross: victory | cross: bottony | letter: greek | letters | alpha | omega | construction sheet |
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2:3
by Jorge Candeias

• Description
• Specifications and Construction Sheet
• Colours
• Flag Variants
• Flag of Asturias Act 1990
• Former Province of Oviedo
• Municipal Flags
• Nationalist parties

See also:

• Spain

The flag of the Principality of Asturias, in the north of Spain is light blue with a cross called Cruz de la Victoria (Cross of Victory) which is a jewel kept in the Cathedral at Oviedo, the capital city of the region.

Jordi Pérez, 16 October 1997

The Cross of Victory is a cross botonny or cross trefly, heraldically speaking, which bears the Greek letters alpha and omega, from Christ's "I am the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end".

Santiago Dotor, 26 May 1999

by Jorge Candeias and Santiago Dotor

The apparently odd position of the cross seems to be determined placing its center on the intersection of the horizontal medial line and a vertical line 1/2 (of the flag's height) [ie. 1/3 of the fly] off from the hoist.

António Martins, 15 September 1999

Correct. The centre point of the cross is determined by the intersection of the horizontal and vertical arms of the same. The height of the cross is 2/3 of the hoist.

Antonio Gutiérrez, 16 September 1999

As for the offset position of the cross, the image is correct according to Article 3.3 of the Principality of Asturias' [Flag] Act 4/1990. I seem to recall that another Article of this Act specifies that the cross shall stand in the flag's centre when the flag has unusual proportions or is intended to be used otherwise than hoisted on a mast.

Antonio Gutiérrez, 22 December 1999 (translated by Santiago Dotor)

On the Law nothing is said about the vertical position of the cross. Jordi Pérez's centering of the cross [arms] intersection (instead of the cross center) might be due either to direct observation, a more detailed legal text or image or just a hint. Any ideas about this?

António Martins, 26 December 1999

[As for the vertical position of the cross,] that is how it is supposed to be, according to a drawing included as an annex to the Law. The [apparent inconsistency on] two official Asturian flags is explained as follows. The Law specifies 5 types of flags that should bear the cross off-centered:

Type     Height (mm)   Width (mm)
   1       6640         4430
   2       4110         2740
   3       3240         2160
   4       1500         1000
   5        750          500

Jorge Candeias, 28 December 1999

According to the model drawing in the Law, all the cross' arms should be narrower in the centre than in the extremities, and the bottom ending is different from the other three.

Jorge Candeias, 30 December 1999

[According to the colours specified in the Flag Act,] Pantone 109 is dark yellow (CMYK:0-9-94-0, browser-safe approximation RGB 255-204-0) and [previously] I used normal yellow [RGB 255-255-0] instead. As for Pantone 829, the prescribed shade of blue, I confess I have a problem, as my Pantone catalogues list entries only up to 732... Is it a typo?

António Martins, 26 December 1999

Pantone 109 has a RGB value of 255-232-5 in Corel Draw!. This is closer to 255-255-0 than to 255-204-0, in my humble opinion. I used normal yellow and a shade of blue taken from a photo I took in Seville in 1992 of an Asturian flag: RGB 0-102-153. I doubt that that mysterious Pantone 829 is this shade, but that's the best I can do.

Jorge Candeias, 28 December 1999

I see the flag several times every day. Its use is very extended here in Asturias. After several tests with family and friends, we think RGB 0-102-255 is the closest BSP blue colour. It is not exactly the right colour, as Pantone 829 is very particular.

José Carlos Alegría, 29 December 1999

Flag for indoor and table use

by Jorge Candeias

The Principality's flag for outdoor use bears the Victory Cross offset towards the hoist. The flags for indoor and table use bear the cross in the middle. The ceremony flag bears the cross in the middle decorated with precious stones, but having these outlined in black and white, with no colours.

Eduardo Panizo, 22 December 1999 (translated by Santiago Dotor)

Ceremony Flag (note incorrect letters)
2:3
by Michel v/Bolloré-Pellé

Is this drawing which I found in the Interceltic Festival of Lorient in Brittany exact?

Michel v/Bolloré-Pellé, 28 December 1999

This is the ceremony flag design, used at important events.

José Carlos Alegría, 29 December 1999

I cannot say anything about the jewelry details or whether they are or not correct for a ceremonial flag according to the Law, but the actual letter design used on this flag is wrong. These glyphs are Erse style (Old Irish) upper case 'a' and lower case 'w', instead of those prescribed by Law, classical Greek letters upper case alpha and lower case omega. This was made as an obvious adaptation of the flag in order to give it a Celtic flavour. Erse (sometimes erroneously called Uncial) was used in Ireland only for writing Irish until the 1970s and it is a variant of the Latin script, with few connections to previous local writing systems, such as Ogham or runes. Naturally, the Northern Spanish claim for celticness dates from a much earlier period, when neither Erse nor Latin script could be even dreamt about.

António Martins, 31 December 1999

In the Flags of Aspirant Peoples chart appears "62. Asturias - North Spain." As the 'flag for indoor use' in FOTW.

Ivan Sache, 14 September 1999

These are the flag related articles of the Principality of Asturias [Flag] Act 4/1990 [see translation below, and the full text in Spanish in this and this two scans of the Boletín Oficial del Estado]:

Ley 4/1990, de 19 de diciembre (BOPAP nº 6, de 9 de enero de 1991. BOE nº 32, de 6 de febrero de 1991).
Bandera del Principado de Asturias.

Artículo 1º.
1. La bandera del Principado de Asturias es rectangular, con la Cruz de la Victoria en amarillo sobre fondo azul.
2. De los brazos diestro y siniestro de la Cruz penderán las letras alpha mayúscula y omega minúscula. (...)

Artículo 3º.
1. La bandera del Principado de Asturias tendrá una longitud igual a tres medios de su ancho (anexo 1).
2. La Cruz de la Victoria tendrá una altura de dos tercios del ancho de la Bandera (anexo 2).
3. El eje de la Cruz se colocará a una distancia de la vaina de media anchura de la bandera (anexo 3).
4. La bandera del Principado de Asturias, en su forma de gala o de máximo respeto, se confeccionará en tafetán de seda, con la Cruz de la Victoria de oro, guarnecida de piedras preciosas de su natural color y las letras alpha y omega también de oro. (...)

Disposiciones Adicionales: (...)

2ª. (...)
2. (...) podrán utilizarse banderas de medidas diferentes para uso distinto de su colocación en mástil; en cuyo caso, la Cruz se emplazará en el centro de la enseña (anexo 4). (...)

5ª.
1. Los colores de la bandera del Principado de Asturias especificados en el Sistema Internacional CIELAB, serán los siguientes:

Color          Tono H en º         Croma C      Claridad L
Azul                 260,0            45,0            50,0
Amarillo              85,0            35,0            60,0

2. Los colores de la bandera del Principado de Asturias, especificados en el sistema Pantone, serán los siguientes: Azul Pantone 829. Amarillo Pantone 109.

Antonio Gutiérrez, 22 December 1999

Translated text:

Act 4/1990, December 19th 1991 (published in the Boletín Oficial del Principado de Asturias no.6, January 9th 1991 and in the Boletín Oficial del Estado no.32, February 6th 1991).
Flag of the Principality of Asturias.

1st Article:
1. The flag of the Principality of Asturias is rectangular, with a yellow Victory Cross on a blue field.
2. From the dexter and sinister arms of the Cross shall hang a capital letter alpha and a small letter omega. (...)

3rd Article: 1. The flag of the Principality of Asturias shall have a length equal to three halves its width [ie. hoist] (annex 1).
2. The Victory Cross shall have a height of two thirds the flag's width (annex 2).
3. The Cross' [vertical] axis shall stand at a distance from the hoist of half the flag's width (annex 3).
4. The flag of the Principality of Asturias, shall have a ceremony or highest respect version, manufactured in silk taffeta with the Victory Cross in gold, decorated with precious stones in their proper colour and the letters alpha and omega also in gold. (...)

Additional Provisions:(...)

2nd. (...)
2. (...) flags not intended for hoisting may be used in different proportions; in which case, the Cross shall be placed in the centre of the flag (annex 4). (...)

5th.
1. The colours of the flag of the Principality of Asturias specified in the International CIELAB System shall be:

Colour     Tone H en º          Croma C       Brightness L
Blue             260,0             45,0               50,0
Yellow            85,0             35,0               60,0

2. The colours of the flag of the Principality of Asturias specified in the Pantone system shall be: blue Pantone 829, yellow Pantone 109.

Santiago Dotor, 23 December 1999

What the Law says about the cross is, "Art. 2 - The Cross of Victory and the blue background of the flag will be identical to those established for the shield of the Principality of Asturias in the Law of the Principality 2/1984 of 27 April." So, to know more about the cross we would have to check this Asturian Law 2/1984.

Jorge Candeias, 29 December 1999

This webpage gives access to several legislative texts (including graphic annexes) regarding official symbols of the Principality of Asturias, including:

• Law of 19th December 1990, on the flag of the Principality of Asturias;
• Law of 27th April 1984 on the coat-of-arms of the Principality of Asturias.

Luis Miguel Arias, 19 June 2001

The Diputación Provincial [provincial council] was an administrative body which dissappeared in the early 1980s in those Autonomous Communities which comprise only one province. Note that although the administrative body is now the Autonomous Community, the province still exists.

Antonio Gutiérrez, 18 November 1999

Asturias (former province of Oviedo): the Diputación Provincial (provincial government) never adopted a flag but the President of the Diputación adopted a flag that was used by the provincial government [ie. by the Diputación]. This was light (sky) blue with the coat-of-arms in the centre.

Jaume Ollé, 27 November 1999