Plus Ultra

Plus Ultra may refer to:

Plus ultra (motto)

Plus ultra (/ˌplʊs ˈʊltrɑː/, Latin: [ˈpluːs ˈʊltraː], Spanish: [plus ˈultɾa]; Latin meaning "further beyond"; in Spanish, más allá) is the national motto of Spain. It is adopted from the personal motto of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (and King of Spain as Charles I) and is a Latin translation from Plus Oultre, his original motto in Old French (Charles's native language).

Charles V

According to Earl Rosenthal, author of The Palace of Charles V in Granada (1985), the motto is closely associated with the Pillars of Hercules, which, according to Greek mythology, were built by Hercules near the Straits of Gibraltar to mark the edge of the then known world. According to mythology the pillars bore the warning Nec plus ultra (also Non plus ultra, "nothing farther beyond"), serving as a warning to sailors and navigators to go no farther.

It is believed that the young Charles V adopted Plus Oultre as his motto at the suggestion of his doctor and personal advisor Luigi Marliano. The idea was to encourage him to ignore the ancient warning and encourage him to take risks, surpass himself and go "farther beyond".

Plus Ultra (aircraft)

Plus Ultra was a Dornier Do J flying boat which completed the first transatlantic flight between Spain and South America in January 1926 with a crew of Spanish aviators, that included Ramón Franco and Julio Ruiz de Alda Miqueleiz, Juan Manuel Duran and Pablo Rada.

The Plus Ultra departed from Palos de la Frontera, in Huelva, Spain on January 22 and arrived in Buenos Aires, Argentina on January 26. It stopped over at Gran Canaria, Cape Verde, Fernando de Noronha, Pernambuco (Recife), Rio de Janeiro and Montevideo. The 10,270 km (6,381 mi) journey was completed in 59 hours and 39 minutes. The plane was subsequently donated to the Argentine Navy and was used to deliver airmail. It is currently on display in a museum in the city of Luján, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina.

The flight of the Plus Ultra followed approximately the route taken, in 1922, by the Portuguese aviators Sacadura Cabral and Gago Coutinho, in the first Trans-Atlantic flight over the South Atlantic (from Lisbon, Portugal to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil).