The grand neoclassical structure rising before you is the Biblioteca Nacional de España, the largest library in the Spanish-speaking world. King Philip the Fifth established this institution in seventeen twelve as the Royal Public Library. He issued a decree requiring printers to deposit a copy of every book published in Spain into the library collection, a practice that continues today as a legal mandate for preserving the nation's cultural memory. While the library now stands as a vast repository of over twenty-six million items, its origins were significantly more contentious. Much of the original collection was built through the confiscation of libraries belonging to aristocrats and institutions that had supported the rival claimant during the War of the Spanish Succession. These early acquisitions were, in effect, seized as spoils of war. If you look closely at the main entrance, you will see six large sculptures of figures who defined Spanish intellectual history. Among them stands Nebrija, who authored the first grammar of the Castilian language, and Saint Isidore of Seville, an early encyclopedist. Crowning the pediment above them is a female allegory of Spain, flanked by figures representing Genius and Study. These figures are carved to honor the act of discovery, awarding a laurel crown of wisdom to all who pass through the doors.
Biblioteca Nacional de España
educational
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