Bandera de Ponta Delgada

The flag of Ponta Delgada is yellow, with the arms of the city in the centre. The arms are red, with seven golden arrows and a goshawk, a bird of prey, at the top. Ponta Delgada is the largest city of the Azores and stands on the island of São Miguel.

How it came about

The flag and the coat of arms were published on 24 October 1946 in the Diário do Governo, the official gazette now called the Diário da República. They follow the Portuguese model of the thirties and forties: coat of arms in the centre, mural crown of five towers and a white band with the name of the municipality. Ponta Delgada had been a city since 2 April 1546, when it was decided by King John III.

How it has changed

The flag of 1946 is the first documented and has not changed. The sources consulted record no earlier flag.

What it means

• Plain yellow ground

  unlike other Portuguese cities, it carries no triangles.

• Seven arrows

  the bound arrows that recall the martyrdom of Saint Sebastian, patron of the city.

• Goshawk

  a bird of prey holding a blue escutcheon with the quinas of Portugal, like those on the flag of Portugal. The goshawk appears on almost every coat of arms of the Azores and on the flag of the Azores.

• Mural crown of five towers

  the sign of a city.

• White band

  “Ponta Delgada”.

Fun facts

1. A city born from a village of a saint

   Ponta Delgada grew from the hamlet of São Sebastião, which today is the centre of the city. That is why the arms bear the arrows of the saint.

2. A name that describes the landscape

   Ponta Delgada means “thin point”. It is named after the narrow, low tongue of volcanic land where the hermitage of Santa Clara was built.

3. An earthquake changed its role

   An earthquake with landslides destroyed the capital of the island in 1522. Ponta Delgada was then the only centre with the means to sustain the administration of the Azores.

Localisation