Peralada <\/a>is not only a place for amusement or leisure activities with its Casino and golf course; it is also the site of a former Carmelite monastery, a place of culture and silence.\u00a0 There is the castle museum, a wine museum, the church and one of the most important and most valuable private libraries in the world.<\/p>\nAt this time, we will concentrate on the library.\u00a0 The library in Peralada\u00a0was created during the earl (count?) past of the place.\u00a0 It is in the Carmelite monastery from the XIV century, where once the monk cells and the main dwelling of the abbot had its place.<\/p>\n
In the 19 Century, the castle and the monastery became the possession of the Rocaberti family.\u00a0 Antoni de Rocaberti, count of Zavella, and Tomas de Rocaberti, count of Peralada and up to then Spanish Ambassador in Paris, commenced to live permanently in Peralada\u00a0\u00a0and created the library in the year 1888.\u00a0 They also maintained a school for theatres and music.\u00a0 This wonderful epoch ended too soon, however with the death of the two brothers at the end of the nineteenth century.\u00a0 The two brothers did not leave descendants.<\/p>\n
Until in the year 1923, the possession remained without owners and seemed on the verge of disappearing, until Miquel Mateu took over the entire complex in the year 1923.\u00a0 He immediately undertook complex restoration work, which gave the population of the village work.\u00a0 And, he began to address the continuity of the library.\u00a0 At that time, the collection consisted of about 20,000 volumes.\u00a0 Today over 80.000 books can be seen, many of inestimable importance.\u00a0 Mateu was a passionate collector; whenever he attended an official meal, he was certain to take a menu card and archive it in the library.\u00a0 Mateu developed a particularly significant passion to collect examples of “Don Quichote ” by the national poet Miguel de Cervantes.\u00a0 Over 1000 “Don Quichotes” are included in the treasures of the library, in many languages and from distant counties, such as the former Russia.<\/p>\n
The archivist Mart\u00ed Costa supported Mateu.\u00a0 This simple man from the village worked hard to assimilate the knowledge of library science techniques and led the archives till the year 1985 as an autodidact.<\/p>\n
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The library is in the southeast part of the monastery; two halls are dedicated to the library, two serve as archives.<\/p>\n
The selections in the accessible public library include books on varying topics such as history, art and customs, and also according to their value and rarity.\u00a0 Some types of books have been omitted, without prejudice, such as Bibles, books concerning music or books for children.<\/p>\n
Among the most valuable volumes within the library include approximately 200 titles from the beginning of the typography in the 15century.\u00a0 We remember, the history of the art of printing began approximately in the year 1455 in Mainz, Germany:\u00a0 Johannes, son of the Patrician Friele Gensfleisch, because of his house called \u201cvon Guttenberg\u201c, invented the printing press with moveable type characters.\u00a0 After Mainz, other \u201cfirsts\u201d were Italy, which published its first works with moveable type in the year 1463, France in 1470, and Spain (Valencia) in the year 1473.\u00a0 The library of Peralada\u00a0contains ancient works from the 15th<\/sup> century, which were manufactured in Basel, Venice, Rom, Florenz, Neapel, Nuernberg, Augsburg, Cologne, Paris, Lyon and Ulm.<\/p>\n![\"biblio-peralada3\"](\"https:\/\/cbrava.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/biblio-peralada3.jpg\")
The oldest existing book carries the title “Sermons de Robertus Caracciolus” and was printed by Francisco de Formis in the year 1472 in Venice. The topics of these works are usually of a religious nature:\u00a0 “Malleus Maleficarum” by Erich Institor, Nuernberg 1494-97, “Practica” of Joannis Miquel Savonarola, Venice 1497.\u00a0 And, the famous “Cosmographie” of Claudio Ptolemee from the year 1492, one of the most complex illustrated books of the library, with maps of the known world, which, at the time, was unaware of the existence of the “new world,\u201d the Americas and Australia and the North and South pole continents.\u00a0 Also of interest is the “Tiber Chronicarum” printed of Hartmann Schedel 1493 in Nuernberg, which fascinates us with copper passes and its format.<\/p>\n
Another component of the library are 1300 manuscripts, 800 of it are concerned with the aristocracy:\u00a0 Family trees, contracts, tax exemptions; all together of inestimable value for the historiography.\u00a0 They often are on parchment; in addition, bind already on paper, drawn up in leathers or cloth.\u00a0 We find here represented the most important families of the Catalan aristocracy; the oldest manuscript was assigned to the family Mayoras by king Juan of Castilia in the year 1460.<\/p>\n
A complete enumerating of the library would exceed the capacity of our systems,\u00a0 but we would be remiss if we did not mention the section of the books once forbidden by the official censors.\u00a0 For example the defaming book of queen Marie Antoinette with the title “Essais historiques sur la vie de Marie Marie-Antoinette d’Autriche, reine de France ” (historical studies of the life of Marie Antoinette of Austria, queen of France), published (probably) in London in the year 1789.\u00a0 Probably?\u00a0 Often books, whose contents were controversial, either religious or likely to displease the community leaders, were printed with intentional errors, in order to arouse suspicion that the books were printed abroad..<\/p>\n
The censored books concern themselves with various other topics: Literature, as for instance the fables of La Fontaine, religious works with heretical contents and anatomical illustrations, which were judged as being obscene.<\/p>\n
The library in Peralada\u00a0does not only show us books from all four corners of Europe, it reminds us also of our cultural roots; and they show to the bibliophile an impression of beauty and dignity.<\/p>\n
We recommend to our readers, without reservation a visit in Peralada.\u00a0 We particularly urge attendance by children and young people.\u00a0 We must continue to use this library to show that there is beauty and culture and knowledge that cannot be garnered from television or other popular communication methods.<\/p>\n
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