On Monday 28th February, the Aula Magna of the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry was the venue for the presentation of the book: La Facultat de Medicina de Valencia. Cinco siglos de historia. The event began at 6 p.m. and was president by the President of the Generalitat, Ximo Puig, and was attended by the principal of the Universitat de València, M. Vicenta Mestre; the president of the Cortes Valencianas, Enric Morera; the dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Javier Chorro; and the director and coordinator of the work, Josep Lluís Barona.

The book entitled “La Facultad de Medicina de València. Cinco siglos de Historia” is the result of the joint work of around twenty historians from various institutions such as the Universitat de València, the Miguel Hernández University and the Catholic University of Valencia and also from various CSIC institutes that have been directed and coordinated by the full university professor of History of Science at the Universitat de València, Josep Lluís Barona.

In his speech, the coordinator of the work, Josep Lluís Barona highlighted the work of educational institutions to strengthen the dynamism and social change, as references for the preservation of memory and construction of identity and sense of people belonging. He praised the trajectory of the Faculty of Medicine as a backbone of modern Valencian society development. He highlighted the achievements of the Faculty in its more than 500 years of creation, and its contribution to the Valencian community, with the students training in different areas of study such as dentistry, nursing and medicine; leaving the citizens, knowledge as an invaluable heritage.

He also thanked the trust placed in them for the creation of this publication, who, with a great commitment and team of collaborators, wrote the text with an excellent level of narrative quality, which represents the Valencian historiographic tradition, with a high level of bibliographic erudition. This work is presented as a memory of the Faculty’s historical reality, as a reference and source book, showing a panorama of Valencian society from its health problems, from the scientific controversies and from the challenges facing modern medicine.

In turn, the Principal of the Universitat de València, Mavi Mestre proudly highlighted Valencia as a tradition and university aspirations city. A city with a free and scientific spirit, which for more than 500 years has had a public university, Valencian, of reference, and open to the world, where students can realise their knowledge and higher education aspirations.

The principal congratulated this initiative promoted by the dean of the Faculty, Professor Francisco Javier Chorro, and his team. She said that this splendid work is of utmost importance for the memory and history preservation of this academic space, as a reference of national and international education, so that it shows the dynamism of the Faculty of Medicine and scientific progress throughout history.

At the ceremony, the Principal of the Universitat de València made a brief mention of Manuela Solís, Concepción Aleixandre and Trinidad Sánchez, the first three medical students at the Universitat de València, women who were part of the group of pioneers who studied medicine at Spanish universities at a time when there was no free access to university studies.

To conclude the event, the President of the Generalitat, Ximo Puig, stated that the culture and history essence is what this publication represents, which brings together the memory of the science generated by the Faculty. He mentioned that the historical perspective presented in this book is fundamental to preserve the events over time. He congratulated the work used in the creation of this book in the university dimension, alluding that it is the result of the new vision of a university of the 21st century that is the principal Mavi Mestre’s bet with her four management years. She urged to continue working from the Universitat, which faces enormous challenges, using this book as a tool that exposes the transformations that Valencian society needs from health, to achieve utopias and overcome adversities.

Thus ended the book presentation: La Facultad de Medicina de Valencia. Cinco siglos de historia. A text that will serve as an instrument to keep the past, the origins, and to feel proud of what it has been achieved as a society in the field of medicine.