COAT OF ARMS OF THE MAIN ENTRANCE THROUGH THE CORINTHIAN ATRIUM
As can be seen by comparing the photographs of the final coat of arms with the photographs of the models made by Álvarez Laviada, the differences between the initial design and the changes finally made lie in the central part of the coat of arms: from the initial models he kept the imperial eagle with its wings and the angels of the model, but replaced the central shield of the design, with an emblem similar to that of the central courtyard coat of arms, with a cross symbolising Asturias from the second design, and with a yoke and arrows different from those representing the Catholic Monarchs, Isabella and Ferdinand, planned in Laviada's original design.
THE TWO COATS OF ARMS AT THE UNIVERSIDAD LABORAL ARE THE WORK OF THE SCULPTOR MANUEL ÁLVAREZ LAVIADA. THE FIRST PRESIDES OVER THE FAÇADE OF THE AULA MAGNA AND THE SECOND OVER THE MAIN ENTRANCE, ON ENTERING THROUGH THE CORINTHIAN COURTYARD.
COAT OF ARMS ABOVE THE AULA MAGNA
The one above the Aula Magna is a coat of arms 7.80 metres wide by 5 metres high, representing an imperial eagle whose head is crowned by a halo. The bird holds in its talons a shield that covers its whole breast, and the whole rests on a large shell, flanked by a vase on a pedestal on either side, which in turn support palm branches. Inside the shield are a yoke and arrows, symbols dating back to the time of the Catholic Monarchs, Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella of Castile.
The yoke (yugo), which begins with the letter "Y", referred to Isabella (Ysabel, in the spelling of the time), while the arrows (flechas) represented Ferdinand. In addition, the yoke alluded to the legend of the Gordian knot, associated with the motto "Tanto monta", while the sheaf of arrows evokes the classical moral lesson that a single arrow can easily be broken, but bound together they are unbreakable.
THE COAT OF ARMS FOR THE AULA MAGNA IN LAVIADA'S STUDIO, UNDER CONSTRUCTION
Laviada's initial models
Rafael Morán Rumoroso
info@universidad-laboral-gijon.es
