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# Azeitão (São Lourenço e São Simão) United Commune (Portugal)

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Last modified: 2026-07-18 by klaus-michael schneider
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## União das Freguesias de Azeitão (São Lourenço e São Simão), Concelho de Setúbal, Distrito de Setúbal

2:3, image by António Martins-Tuválkin, 4 Apr 2017 | 2:3, image by António Martins-Tuválkin, 4 Apr 2017 |  |

- Azeitão (São Lourenço e São Simão) United Commune

- Flag
- Coat of Arms
- Presentation of Azeitão (São Lourenço e São Simão)

- Former Vila Nogueira de Azeitão - São Lourenço Commune (until 2013)

- Flag
- Coat of Arms
- Presentation of Vila Nogueira de Azeitão - São Lourenço

- Former Former Vila Fresca de Azeitão - São Simão Commune (until 2013)

- Flag
- Coat of Arms
- Presentation of Former Vila Fresca de Azeitão - São Simão

See also:

- Setúbal Municipality
- Portugal
- Portuguese WIKIPEDIA

## Azeitão (São Lourenço e São Simão) United Commune

### Flag

It is a slightly atypical Portuguese communal flag with the coat of arms centred on a field quartered of white and green.
Source: Sérgio Horta´s webpage
António Martins-Tuválkin,, 4 Apr 2017

### Coat of Arms

image by António Martins-Tuválkin and Sérgio Horta, 20 May 2025

Shield Or a St. James cross Gules and two bunches of grapes Purple stemmed Vert, all three ordered 1:2, in orle along the base an olive branch Vert fruited Sable. Mural crown Argent with four visible towers (town rank) and no scroll (!) (see left flag image) , according to the legal text. The communal government uses a typical scroll (see right flag image) with the word "AZEITÃO" and, on a 2nd line of text set in much smaller size, "SÃO LOURENÃ‡O E SÃO SIMÃO".
Source: this image
Sources: Sérgio Horta´s webpage
António Martins-Tuválkin, 4 Apr 2017

Published in Diário da República: II Série on ,
António Martins-Tuválkin, 4 Apr 2017

### Presentation of Azeitão (São Lourenço e São Simão)

The eastern part of the mountain range that goes from Espichel Cape (Lat.: 38° 24' 49,42" N , Long.: 9° 13' 14,12" W) to the River Sado mouth (Lat.: 38° 30' 51,01" N Long.: 8° 55' 22,62" W) and the hilly area on its northern slope, is called Azeitão (a word cognate with "azeite", = "olive oil").
This area had two Catholic Parishes in the early 1800s and was thus divided in two communes, when the secular administration was created in Portugal. In spite of these two communes corresponding with two main towns, the secular civil subdivisions kept their saint names - which lasted till 2013, when both communes were integrated into a single one. This area was once a standalone municipality, with two communes; before that it had been historically attached to its western neighbour Sesimbra, before being integrated into Setúbal municipality.
The two main towns and the former communes are: Vila Nogueira de Azeito - São Lourenço commune (eastern) and Vila Fresca de Azeitão - São Simão commune (western)
Azeitão (São Lourenço e São Simão), or simply Azeitão, is one of the five communes of Setúbal Municipality created by a merger during the 2013 changes. It had 18 977 inhabitants in 2021 and covers 69,3& km².
António Martins-Tuválkin, 4 Apr 2017

### Former Vila Nogueira de Azeitão - São Lourenço Commune (until 2013)

#### Flag

I couldn´t find any flag information.
Source: Sérgio Horta´s webpage
António Martins-Tuválkin, 1 Apr 2017

#### Coat of Arms

image by António Martins-Tuválkin,, 1 Apr 2017

It is likely that this emblem, if it had any use, was used on flags. It is divided per pale, the dexter half is Argent a gridiron between two sword crosses fleury fitchy all Argent fimbriated Gules, the sinister half is Argent a walnut tree Vert.
Meaning:
"nogueira" means "walnut tree", therefore canting for the town´s name, and the gridiron is St. Lawrence´s attribute, therefore canting for the commune´s name; the crosses may be a botched attempt to refer to St. James - the area was in the hands of the Saint James Order after its conquest in the mid 1100s.
António Martins-Tuválkin,

#### Presentation of Vila Nogueira de Azeitão - São Lourenço

Vila Nogueira de Azeitão - São Lourenço was one of the five communes of Setúbal Municipality affected by the 2013 changes. It had 11 638 inhabitants in 2011 and covered 47,7 km².
This former commune, named Freguesia de São Lourenço de AzeitãÃ£o (or Freguesia de São Lourenço (Setúbal) etc.) for St. Lawrence to match the Catholic parish, but seated on a settlement named Vila Nogueira de Azeitão (and therefore the expected name Freguesia de Vila Nogueira de Azeitão, analogue to most other communes, being likely to be found), was suppressed in 2013 (one of the five communes of Setúbal municipality to be thusly affected) to join its kin St. Simon in forming the new commune of Azeitão.
Source: Portuguese WIKIPEDIA
António Martins-Tuválkin, 2 Apr 2017

### Former Vila Fresca de Azeitão - São Simão Commune (until 2013)

#### Flag

2:3, image by António Martins-Tuválkin, 21 May 2025 | 2:3, image by António Martins-Tuválkin, 21 May 2025 |  |

It is an almost fully typical (and 100% lawful) Portuguese communal flag , with the coat of arms centred on a plain red (see left image above) or white (see right image above) field.
Source: Sérgio Horta´s webpage
António Martins-Tuválkin, 2 Apr 2017

#### Coat of Arms

image by António Martins-Tuválkin, 9 June 2026

Shield Or a lumberman´s saw Gules, in chief a cross of St. James, both flanked by two olive branches Vert fructed Sable, base wavy of four of Vert and Argent. Mural crown Argent with three visible towers (village rank) and yellow scroll reading in black upper case serifed letters "SÃO SIMÃO DE AZEITÃO".
Meaning:
The saw on the arms, the attribute of St. Simon the Zealot, is canting for the commune's patron and official namesake, while the olive branches are canting for the wider region, Azeitão (as said, a cognate of "azeite" = "olive oil"); the St. James cross stands, as usual, for the importance of the St. James Order in this region. The scroll - described heraldically, as Or, and not simply called yellow, - is unusual but not atypical: Indeed the law doesn´t prescribe scrolls to be Argent/white. Even though that only a few are not, and surely when the flag is white a non-white scroll is slightly less rare.
Source: Ralf Hartemink´s webpage
António Martins-Tuválkin, 2 Apr 2017

Published in Diário da República: II Série on 25 Feb 2015, here
António Martins-Tuválkin,

#### Presentation of Vila Fresca de Azeitão - São Simão

Vila Fresca de Azeitão - São Simão was one of the five communes of Setúbal Municipality affected by the 2013 changes. It had 7239 inhabitants in 2011 and covered 21,6 km².
This former commune, named Freguesia de São Simão de AzeitãÃ£o (or Freguesia de São Simão (Setúbal) etc.) for St. Simon to match the Catholic parish, but seated on a settlement named Vila Fresca de Azeitão (and therefore the expected name Freguesia de Vila Fresca de Azeitão, analogue to most other communes, being likely to be found), was suppressed in 2013 (one of the five communes of Setúbal municipality to be thusly affected) to join its kin St. Lawrence in forming the new commune of Azeitão.
Source: Portuguese WIKIPEDIA
António Martins-Tuválkin, 2 Apr 2017

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