Javea breaks with the past

JAVEA’S remaining reminders of the Franco era will soon disappear.

Three of the four carved shields on a stone canopy in the small plaza at Carrer Escola are to be removed.

One crest depicts the yoke and arrows that were the symbols of the Movimiento, the only political group that was allowed during the 1939-1975 dictatorship. Two others show Spain’s pre-Constitution coat of arms but the fourth, representing Javea’s own shield, will not be touched.

The carvings will be stored in the town’s Soler Blas Museum, together with another Francoist escutcheon that was removed from the front of the municipal market some years ago.