Last modified: 2026-02-28 by antónio martins
Keywords: ribeira grande | ribera grandi | sun (yellow) | mountains: 3 | stars: 10 | waves: 4 | sun: 20 rays | chain (black) | chain: 3 links | stars: 10 (yellow) | sun: 24 rays | per fess | vila maria pia |
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image by António Martins, 15 Dec 2025
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This municipality, although named after one of the two larger
settlements encompassed in its territory, has its seat in the other. The
towns in question are respectively Ponta do Sol and Ribeira Grande, the
former being the northernmost point of the whole country.
António Martins, 18 Apr 2016
This thus named is on Santo Antão Island;
not to be confused with Municipality of Ribeira
Grande de Santiago, on Santiago Island.
António Martins, 19 Apr 2016
This
November
2008 photo in Ponta do Sol, Santo Antão isl., Cabo Verde shows the
town hall of the Municipality of Ribeira Grande. Hoisted on three poles on
its pediment, the national flag on the central
(highest) pole, the Portuguese national flag at its
right side on a lower pole (probably a protocol faux pas; the
presence of this flag might be due to some kind of official visit), and at
the left what seems to be the municipal flag:
It seems to be a white over blue horizontal bicolor, and not quartered
or plain as other caboverdean municipal flags reported
before, but the photo might be misleading. I could not find other
photos of this flag, only the emblem used standalong, as in
this
2014 concert sponsored by the municipality.
António Martins, 18 Apr 2016
The colonial-era flag of this municipality was
interestingly quite similar to the current one.
António Martins, 16 Dec 2025
In a defunct
official municipal website, the emblem is visibly squeezed sideways, its
circle showing as a standing elipse.
António Martins, 25 Dec 2025
.gif)
image by António Martins, 15 Dec 2025
The logo/emblem/coat-of-arms depicts a three-peak island profile over
the sea and under a big sun, apparently canting for Ponta do Sol (meaning
"headland of the sun") and not for the municipal
namesake Ribeira Grande (meaning "big creek").
António Martins, 18 Apr 2016
In spite of the odd positioning of the chain links — at the bottom edge
of the circular emblem, not at the top as most other
municipal emblems — there doesn’t seem to be much variation in the way this
emblem has been depicted: See examples of
2016 (official website),
2017, and
2025.
António Martins, Feb 2026
A version of this same emblem, with the scroll text ending in abbreviated
"Rª GRANDE" instead of "RIBEIRA GRANDE", can be
seen in official use in a
local
music festival in 2014. Ten years later, at the same festival
“Sete Sóis, Sete Luas”, we
can
see on stage a similar backdrop with the municipal emblem now with an even
fuller inscription in the scroll ("CÂMARA MUNICIPAL DA RIBEIRA
GRANDE") and light/shadow effects on the stylized mountains, with the triangles
half green, at the right hand side of the viewer, and half brown at the left.
António Martins, 15 Dec 2025
![[flag]](../images/c/cv-11_h.gif)
image by Sérgio Horta and António Martins, 16 Dec 2025 |
(source)
The colonial-era flag of this municipality was interestingly quite similar
to the current one, with a quartered background of blue over
white and an emblem showing also the sun shining over waves.
Mural crown Argent with four visible towers (town rank)
and white scroll reading in black upper case serifed letters "Vila Maria Pia". The
banner should have silvery and blue tassels and cord, and golden staff with a spear
finial. Flag and arms approved by the Overseas Ministry in Ministerial Diploma
(Diploma Legislativo Ministerial) n.º 4 and published in the official
journal (of the colony) Boletim Oficial de Cabo Verde : I Série : 12.º
Suplemento of 1955.05.22.
António Martins, 16 Dec 2025
The toponym on the scroll — "Vila Maria Pia" (later renamed
"Ponta do Sol") is, as usual, the name of the municipality
seat, and not the official name of the municipality, which was already
"Ribeira Grande" back then.
António Martins, 16 Dec 2025
At HeraldicaCivica.PT
we can see Sérgio Horta’s account of these arms and flag, drawn in
the same style as contemporary CHAAP artwork; other
sources, such as postage
stamps or the book [lgh66],
may differ in details.
António Martins, 16 Dec 2025
![[flag]](../images/p/pt-'wb4.gif)
image by António Martins, 29 Feb 2010
Non-monocolored portuguese subnational flags are
allowed to have armless variations.
Jorge Candeias, 18 Jul 1999
While the current law, adopted in 1991,
doesn’t apply to municipal flags in the colonies, independent in 1975, it
however draws most of its content from the 1930 ministerial dispatch, incl.
the regulation of armless variations allowed for non-monocolor municipal flags.
This 1930 ruling affected all future Portuguese municipal flags, including the
colonial ones.
António Martins, Feb 2026
![[flag]](../images/c/cv-11_h).gif)
image by Sérgio Horta and António Martins, 16 Dec 2025 |
(source)
The arms had a shield party fesswise the I Azure a sun Or and the II Argent a bar wavy Azure.
Escudo cortado: o primeiro de azul, um sol de ouro; o segundo de prata, uma faixa ondada de azul. Coroa mural de quatro torres de prata. Listel branco com os dizeres "VILA MARIA PIA". Bandeira - Esquartelada de branco e azul. Cordões e borlas de prata e azul. Lança e hasta douradas.The sun is shown as faceless and without edging around the rim; the rays are all wavy and number twenty four.
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