The Joanine Library of the University of Coimbra
The Joanine Library of the University of Coimbra - the name that today designates, as an extension of the modern General Library of the University, what was, until the constitution of the latter, simply the House of the University Library, as it would be known for more than two centuries - owes its name to the monarch under whose aegis it was built: King João V, the Magnanimous King, as he would be known historically. João V, the Magnanimous King, as he would become known historically, in legitimate consecration of his extensive patronage of culture, science and the arts, and in this library, one of the cornerstones of his cultural program. With its origins in the old statutory requirement for a public library at the University, its construction, in the heart of the university palace, took place between 1717 and 1728 and numerous artists collaborated in it, as well as in its sumptuous decoration, interacting in rare harmony, in order to turn it into the most extraordinary university library in the world, a precious ornamental building where a very important bibliographic collection is preserved. With a long history, not without its vicissitudes, the Casa da Livraria has nevertheless reached the present day with its splendor intact, endlessly fascinating the hundreds of thousands of visitors who visit it every year.
|