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Ragusa Province (Sicily, Italy)

Provincia di Ragusa

Last modified: 2004-12-29 by dov gutterman
Keywords: italy | ragusa | sicily |
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by Roberto Breschi from CISV



See also:

Municipalities:

  • Acate
  • Chiaramonte Gulfi
  • Comiso
  • Giarratana
  • Ispica
  • Modica
  • Monterosso Almo
  • Pozzallo
  • Ragusa
  • Santa Croce Camerina
  • Scicli
  • Vittoria

The Flag

Ragusa (Sicily) - blue with great yellow circle and whitin the arms. Arms adopted 6-12-1926
Jaume Olle', 1 August 1999

I have to point out that the town of Ragusa ("Città di Ragusa") in Italy has no flag of its own. It is the Province of Ragusa that displays a blue flag with a yellow circle within the arms in the center. For further details here is an article:
The Province of Ragusa is the smallest of the nine provinces of Sicily, covering the southeastern part of this island and looking onto the Malta channel.
The provincial flag was adopted on the seventieth anniversary of the birth (1997).
As it is a wide practise in Italy the substancial portion of the flag derives from the device of the gonfalon -the background is blue with the provincial coat of arms in the center. It is now placed within a gold ring; below the script "Provincia Regionale di Ragusa" (Regional Province of Ragusa) in capital letters of gold in form of arc. The province was created on 16 January 1927 by the Fascist regime and the coats of arm dates from that era. It consisted of a white (argent) and red (gules) checkered bend of two rows stretching across a blue background, in the center a gold eagle holding a fasces in its claws and a gold five-pointed star above. Royal approval was given on 17April 1930. The design or the arms (appearing on a blue gonfalon) had the following symbolism. The field was a reference to the Normans, who after decades of struggle in the XI century were able to seize control  of Sicily -Arab rule approached its end after about two and a half centuries. The new rulers introduced feudalism and what is today the Ragusa province flourished in the Middle Ages as County of Mòdica, which was suppressed in the early XIX century and subordinated to the Province of Syracuse. The eagle and fasces stood for the Fascist regime. According to a decree dated 13 April 1905 the Italian provincial crown completed the design. Obviously no sooner had Fascism broken down than the fasces was not retained and eventually replaced by a wreath ("crown") of laurel and oak branches with a red ribbon. The long history of this area allowed for different possible interpretations of the eagle. This was the symbol of the whole Sicily during the Middle Ages until 1848, led by the Swabian emperors ruling over this island too. Most of the towns of the Province of Ragusa bear or have borne in their coat of arms an eagle. After World War II, Sicily was granted autonomy assuming responsibility over some local affairs and in the matter of local government system too. So in theory the nine Provinces were formally suppressed, all the same they have continued to exist and only in 1989 new administrative divisions were established. In reality each Province were confirmed (and its boundaries as well) was confirmed but the official name was changed to "Regional Province".
Like in the gonfalon currently in use, the colour blue in the shield of the flag is lighter than the blue of the field of the flag.
Rosario Francesco Raunisi, 15 January 2002

Just to remind, it should not be confuzed with Ragusa on Adriatic coast, today known after Croat name Dubrovnik.
Zeljko Heimer, 15 January 2002


Coat of Arms


from <www.provincia.ragusa.it>, located by Jarig Bakker