Felip VI

On Tuesday, 25 November, the University of Valencia hosted the Solemn Opening Ceremony of the 2025–2026 Academic Year, which this year took on a special significance as it also became the official opening event for all Spanish universities. The ceremony, presided over by His Majesty King Felipe VI of Spain, was held for the first time in the Auditorium of the University’s historic building.

After the academic ceremony, King Felipe VI, accompanied by the Rector and the main Valencian authorities, visited the Historical Library, where he was received by Maria Jesús García Mateu, the library’s director. During the tour, he was able to view some of the most outstanding bibliographic treasures of the University’s heritage, including a copy of the “Bible of Saint Vincent Ferrer”, with handwritten annotations by the saint himself, which belonged to the Duke of Calabria  (BH Ms. 45); the only known copy of the first literary book printed on the Iberian Peninsula, “Obres e trobes en lahors de la Verge Maria” (BH CF/1); and a copy of Tirant lo Blanc, an incunable preserved in the Historical Library (BH inc. 39).

To conclude his visit, the king signed the University of Valencia’s Book of Honour.

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