BUSOT
Province : Alicante
Origin/meaning :
The Busot arms as illustrated date from the mid 1980s, when municipal shields were devised for Busot and other towns in the Alicante region - like El Campello - which up till then had no official arms. The chief of the shield represent the colours of the old kingdom of Aragon, and the conquering of Alicante by James the Just in 1296.
The trees bearing golden fruit, represent the agricultural richness of the Busot area, formerly given over to almond and olive terraces and smallholders market gardens, but now increasingly dry and desertified terrain where tomatoes are currently mass produced under plastic greenhouse using intensive farming techniques.
The tower with fenestration and open door on a mountain peak in the base of the shield are in memory of the Busot castle - today in ruins - which occupied a position of strategic importance in the middle ages. The Treaty of Almizra was signed here in 1244. The golden field on which the castle stands represents Busot's illustrious past.
Literature : Image taken from http://www.geocities.com/panizo2000; Background provided by Bill Bower, Busot.