| Coat of arms of Pichilemu | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Armiger | Pichilemu |
| Adopted | 1986 |
| Crest | A balustrade with a mitre in the center |
| Shield | Quarterly: Forest, Windsurf boards |
| Use | Flag of Pichilemu |
The coat of arms of Pichilemu (Spanish: Escudo de armas de Pichilemu) is the official heraldic symbol representing the city of Pichilemu, the capital of the Chilean province of Cardenal Caro. It consists of a party per cross referencing the importance of tourism in Pichilemu, and the commune's agricultural, huaso origins. The coat of arms is crested with a "symbolical representation of Pichilemu's past and present: a balustrade fused in a mitre",[n 1] worn by José María Caro Rodríguez, the first Cardinal of the Chilean Roman Catholic Church, who was born in the village of San Antonio de Petrel, in Pichilemu.
In September 1986, the municipality of Pichilemu and the Council of Communal Development (CODECO) made a public call for tenders to create a coat of arms for the commune, similar to that of the province of Cardenal Caro. A design made by Hernán Martínez Morales from Curicó was eventually adopted by the local government on 19 December 1986, under the administration of Mayor René Maturana Maldonado.
The original date inscribed in the coat of arms, "21-XII 1891" (21 December 1891), prompted criticism from local historians Antonio Saldías and José Arraño Acevedo, who have pointed out it is "incorrect".[n 2] Saldías has suggested to commemorate the first municipal meeting of 6 May 1894, or the grant of the title of encomienda of Topocalma on 24 January 1544, for example.
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