Restored 1867 tricolor returns to Casa de la Vall ahead of December display

The restored tricolor flag returned yesterday from the restoration workshop to the heritage department, but technicians did not unfold it. It will be displayed on 21 December to coincide with the Sant Tomàs council, when the Sindicatura plans to reopen Casa de la Vall. The flag will be hung inside a display case at the complex’s main entrance.

The tricolor originated in 1867, when Napoleon III gave a flag after the syndic of the time, Don Guillem, travelled to Compiègne to request permission for participation in the Universal Exposition. At Napoleon’s request, a blue stripe was added to the existing yellow (for the House of Foix) and red (for Catalonia), creating the tricolor. The first example that travelled to Paris around that time was photographed in the plenary hall of Casa de la Vall by Guillem de Plandolit in 1916. That original flag was sent for restoration in September and has now returned to Patrimoni.