INTERPRETING THE COAT OF ARMS OF RIOBAMBA CITY THROUGH HERALDIC AND EMBLEMATICS

Abstract

The hermeneutical exercise on the Coat of Arms of Riobamba city has brought together historians, chroniclers, and municipal authorities, including Pedro Traversari, designer of the current Ecuadorian coat of arms. Given the scarcity of authentic documents, Traversari undertook the interpretation of the shield based on the tradition and narration of historians like Juan de Velasco and González Suárez. These descriptions still generate confrontations among the population, regarding the recognition of the emblem as an element of identity. In this context, the objective of the study is to present an alternative reading to the historical narrative of the Riobamba coat of arms based on Heraldry and Emblematics as tools for its diachronic historical analysis through the application of the inductive method. The main findings are detailed: the visual discursive configuration of this heraldic shield, the conformation, identification, meaning of the emblem and the complementary reading to the current narrative, showing the relationship of the hagiographic attributes of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, present as furniture of the analyzed shield.