Melilla

The flag of Melilla presents the emblem of Melilla on a blue background. This flag has been in use since 1995. The shield in the center of the flag, flanked by the columns of Hercules, derives from that of the noble Andalusian family Pérez de Guzmán. Inside a frame composed by the arms of Castile and Leon, two baskets full of snakes are depicted. Above the shield is a crown in the center of which is depicted a tower and a sword-armed warrior representing Guzmán il Buono. Around the crown there is a ribbon with the motto "Preferre patriam liberis parentem decet" which means roughly "to the children it is advisable to place the fatherland before the fatherland". At the foot of the shield is a dragon reminiscent of the legendary enterprise of the founder of the Guzmán dynasty who liberated the lands of the sultan of Fez from this monster. Melilla is an autonomous Spanish city located on the east coast of Morocco, in North Africa, near the Moroccan port Beni Ensar.