This photograph of the Necochea (Nekotxea) family coat of arms is from the original royal manuscript of Carlos IV, King of Spain, granting permission to Coronel D. Raymundo Necochea de Iniquz y Landa to incorporate an arm with sword in hand, to mark "for all posterity" the king's gratitude for Necochea's capture of the Peruvian Jose Gabriel Condorcanqui, also known as Diego Tupac Amaru, the last Inca Emperor.
The manuscript bears the original signature of King Carlos IV and is kept in the Necochea ancestral home (casa solar) in the town of Urzainqui in the Roncal Valley of Navarra, Spain. The family coat of arms, cast in stone, graces the exterior front facade of the home, high above the entryway.
The earliest mention of the ancestral home is found in the Spanish dictionary of nobility "Diccionario Nobiliario de Atienza," September 1, 1412, wherein King Carlos III of Navarra recognizes the noble status of
Casimiro Francisco de Necochea of Navarra:
"Necochea: De Navarra, con casa en el Valle del Roncal, del partido de Pamplona, de la que procedio Casimiro Francisco de Necochea, que fue agraciado el 1,' de Septiembre de 1412 por el rey don Carlos III de Navarra, con carta ejecutoria de hidalguia y blasones. Sus descendientes pasaron a Chile."
Research courtesy Ruben Gordy de Necochea, Sacramento, California
Photos by Ruben Gordy de Necochea Jr, New York City
