The UV celebrates 550 years of the printing press in Valencia with exhibitions, workshops, contests and dance

The importance ofTrobesgoes beyond being the first ever book printed in the Crown of Aragon and the first literary book in the Iberian Peninsula. Although it was not in Valencia where a moveable type press operated for the first time in the Peninsula, it was from those pioneering Valencian printing workshops that book production became an industry in Spain, starting the large-scale commercial introduction of the incunabulum book.

To celebrate the 550^thanniversary of this event —which happens at the same time as the UV’s 525^thanniversary, the Offices of the Vice-Principals for Culture and Society and Research have collaborated to carry out a programme of activities that, as a whole, will contribute to reflect the event’s relevance and that show the UV’s commitment to Valencian society.

The cultural initiatives organised throughout the year were presented at a press conference held on Tuesday in the Sapiencia Chapel of the Universitat de València, with the participation of the coordinator and Professor of Latin Philology at the UV Marco Antonio Coronel Ramos; Deputy Director of the Archives of the Crown of Aragon Rosa M. Gregori Roig; Vice-Principal for Culture and Society Ester Alba Pagán; and Vice-Principal for Research Carlos Hermenegildo Caudevilla.

The coordinator emphasised that every anniversary is an opportunity to raise awareness of Valencia’s heritage, which gives coherence to its history and gave an account of the activities programmed by the event organisers. The exhibitionTrobes en lahors de la Verge Maria: filologia, història i pensamentwill be held at the UV on 21 and 22 November 2024 as part of the activities sponsored by the VaHiFo Research Group (Valentiae Historici Fontes). Renowned researchers from various universities will participate under the coordination of Marco Antonio Coronel Ramos and Marina Navàs Farré.

As part of this year's programme of exhibitions organised by the Historical Library, the exhibitionTrobes: 550 años de la imprenta en Valenciawas recently inaugurated. In addition to the Duc de Calàbria room of the Historical Library, the exhibition also includes the Beam Hall of La Nau Cultural Centre and will be open to visits until 8 September 2024. The exhibition was curated by Antoni Furió and Pau Viciano, two UV professors, and Rosa M. Gregori Roig, deputy director of the Archives of the Crown of Aragon who presented the exhibition discourse and pointed out the importance of bringing to light Valencia’s role in book printing using the new moveable type press technology designed in the mid-15th century by Johannes Gutenberg. Its arrival to Valencia was vital for its expansion throughout the rest of the country.

A replica of Gutenberg’s printing press has been introduced on the occasion of the celebration (property of the Association of Friends of the Printing Museum. Senate of the Museum), displayed in front of the door of the Duc de Calàbria room, where it will remain until 26 May. Visitors will be able to see how it works from 10:00am – 1:00pm on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays, and from 4:00pm – 7:00pm on Wednesdays. A printer will show the printing of the first page of theTrobesincunabulum.

Vice-Principal Ester Alba Pagán presented the initiatives developed by art clubs and University and Society of the UV, who have prepared an itinerant version of the exhibitionTrobes: 550 anys…in order to reach a wider audience. The itinerant exhibition began its tour on Tuesday, 7 May at the Ducal Palace of the Borgias (Gandia), where it will remain until 21 July.

UV students from the Poetry Club read poems in the Duc de Calàbria room of the Historical Library on its presentation day at 6:00pm. The repertoire includes their own poems, as well as those by well-known poets such as Pedro Salinas, Jaime Gil de Biedma, Luis Rosales, Emilia Pardo Bazán and Gabriela Mistral, among others.

The Dance Group Level 1 of the Performing Arts Club will participate with the dance performance Fulls/Papers, with the help of choreographer Antonio Aparisi Sevilla, winner of the Max Award for Best Choreography. The performance will take place on Thursday, 16 May at 6:30pm at the Sapiencia Chapel of the UV. On the same day, at 7:00pm, the Lluís Vich Chamber Choir will offer a performance of Renaissance music with a Marian theme at the chapel of the UV, based on texts fromObres o trobes en lahors de la Verge Maria. The performances will be free of charge, but guests must book in advance via website.

Carlos Hermenegildo Caudevilla emphasised the importance of the collaboration between the different services and units that make up the Offices of the Vice-Principals of Culture and Society and Research. He also presented the publications currently in progress to draw attention to the heritage and cultural mission of the UV. Mission being carried out with the help of the UV Publications Service, such as the publication of the exhibition catalogueTrobes: 550 anysand other works developed as part of the anniversary, such as the second issue of the Inutilitas Librorum series of the Cinc Segles collection. It is the result of the collaboration between the Historical Library of the UV and the PUV publishing house, which, on this occasion, is dedicated to Valencian incunabula, the work of one of the most famous professionals in the field, Julián Martín Abad. A monographic issue of the scientific journalRecerquesdedicated to the 550^thanniversary of the appearance of theTrobeswill be published in the second half of this year.Recerquesis published by a group of ten universities of the Xarxa Vives, including the UV, and is edited and printed in Valencia by the PUV.

The joint work developed as an example of institutional cooperation is aimed at highlighting the importance of the anniversary and bringing Valencian society closer to the UV's bibliographic heritage, which includes the only known copy of the first book printed in Valencia,Obres o trobes en lahors de la Verge Maria, kept in the Historical Library.