Subbetica
The Zamorano Banner
THE ZAMORANO BANNER
Lobby of Priego de Córdoba Town Hall. Visits: Tourist Office opening hours
Plaza de la Constitución 3
14800 Priego de Córdoba (Córdoba).
Tel.: 957 700 625
E-mail:informacion@turismodepriego.com
The Zamorano Banner is a military insignia created in 1501 that was used during the Old Regime (16th–19th centuries) to lead the troops from Priego who took part in military campaigns as members of the Marquisate of Priego. However, it also had a civil and religious use, being flown during various celebrations or festivities such as those of St James the Apostle (25 July) or St Nicasio (14 December), and serving as a symbol of social prestige for the family that held it.
The banner’s origins, however, lie in a late medieval context that can be seen as the epilogue to the War of Granada, which culminated in the conquest of the city of Granada in 1492. The terms of surrender agreed in the capitulations signed by the Catholic Monarchs and the Nasrid king Boabdil, notably including religious tolerance, were not respected; this led to various episodes of violent resistance by the affected Muslim population between 1499 and 1501.
One such episode of hostilities took place in the Sierra Bermeja (Málaga) in March 1501, where Alfonso Fernández de Córdoba y Herrera (Don Alonso de Aguilar, brother of the Great Captain), lord of the House of Aguilar—which included the lordship of Priego—was killed; he was accompanied that day by his son Pedro, the future 1st Marquis of Priego. The latter’s life was saved thanks to the intervention of Juan Martín Zamorano of Priego, who received, amongst other honours, the privilege of being perpetual ensign of the seigneurial militias of Priego, as well as a hereditary banner commemorating the event.
The banner was donated to the town by the Tisner-Madrid family in 2022 and restored at the Andalusian Institute of Historical Heritage (IAPH) of the Regional Ministry of Culture and Sport of the Regional Government of Andalusia in 2023