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Biblioteca Palafoxiana, Puebla: the hall toward the altarpiece. Photo: Luis Alvaz, CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/), via Wikimedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Biblioteca_Palafoxiana_(panor%C3%A1mica)_03.jpgDownload 1920px
Biblioteca Palafoxiana
Heroica Puebla de Zaragoza, Mexico, 1646
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The record
Worth knowing
Biblioteca Palafoxiana, worth knowing: A painting of the Virgen de Trapani hangs at the far end of the hall, framed by gilded neoclassical columns.
Biblioteca Palafoxiana, worth knowing: Bishop Palafox never saw the project finished. The Associated Press says the library he founded in 1646 is the first public library in the Americas.
Biblioteca Palafoxiana, worth knowing: The Palafoxiana holds 45,000 items on more than 15,000 subjects, dated from the 17th to the 20th century, according to the Mexican culture ministry in 2019.
Biblioteca Palafoxiana, worth knowing: The books sit on cedar shelves in three levels, arranged by a scholastic view that places God as the base of all knowledge. The first level holds more than 11,000 Bibles and religious works, according to the Associated Press.
Built
Biblioteca Palafoxiana, built: founded 1646; the current building completed 1773
Biblioteca Palafoxiana, built: Francisco Fabian y Fuero ordered the construction of the premises
Size
Biblioteca Palafoxiana, size: A 43-metre-long vaulted hall on the second floor of the Colegio
Volumes
Biblioteca Palafoxiana, volumes: 45,058 old books, 5,348 manuscripts and 9 incunabula (Spanish article)
Collection
Biblioteca Palafoxiana, collection: over 45,000 books and manuscripts
Biblioteca Palafoxiana, collection: On 6 September 1646 Palafox y Mendoza donated 5,000 volumes (English article).
Biblioteca Palafoxiana, collection: Books confiscated from the Jesuits on their expulsion in 1767 were added.
Biblioteca Palafoxiana, collection: Oldest book is Herodotus's Nine Books of History (Spanish article)
Status today
Biblioteca Palafoxiana, status today: the first and oldest public library in the Americas (UNESCO)
Biblioteca Palafoxiana, status today: Royal decree approved in December 1647, reconfirmed by Pope Innocent X in 1648 (Spanish article).
Biblioteca Palafoxiana, status today: Monumento Historico de Mexico since 1981 (Spanish article).
What happened here
1646Biblioteca Palafoxiana, founded, 1646: Palafox donates his library
1773Biblioteca Palafoxiana, built, 1773: Library premises finished
1999Biblioteca Palafoxiana, damaged, 1999: Two earthquakes damage building and shelves
2005Biblioteca Palafoxiana, reopened, 2005: Doors reopened in April 2005 after restoration
Photographs
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Palafoxiana reading hall with globe and altar, Puebla. Photo: Bruno Rijsman, CC BY-SA 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/), via Wikimedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Puebla_(Mexico,_June_2018)_-_20_(50922119131).jpgDownload 1920px
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Reading table and shelves, Biblioteca Palafoxiana. Photo: Another Believer, CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/), via Wikimedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Puebla,_Mexico_(2018)_-_313.jpgDownload 1920px
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Gilded altarpiece at the end of the Palafoxiana. Photo: El Ágora, CC BY 2.5 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/), via Wikimedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Biblioteca_Palafoxiana.JPGDownload 1920px
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Casa de la Cultura, former Colegio de San Juan, Puebla. Photo: Octavio Alonso Maya …, CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/), via Wikimedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Casa_de_la_Cultura_-_panoramio_(3).jpgDownload 1920px
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Tiled facade of the Casa de la Cultura, which houses the Palafoxiana, Puebla. Photo: Luis Alvaz, CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/), via Wikimedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fachada_de_la_Casa_de_cultura_de_Puebla_01.jpgDownload 1920px
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Arcaded courtyard of the Casa de la Cultura, Puebla. Photo: Sergio eduardo diaz rojas, CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/), via Wikimedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Casa_de_cultura,_puebla.JPGDownload 1920px
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biblioteca_Palafoxiana
- https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biblioteca_Palafoxiana
- https://www.publimetro.com.mx/noticias/2022/10/08/biblioteca-palafoxiana-preserva-legado-de-obispo-espanol
- https://www.gob.mx/cultura/prensa/exposicion-memoria-de-la-biblioteca-palafoxiana-recorre-cuatro-decadas-de-historia