Good news for all the book lovers out there! What if you could visit a century-old library filled with ancient books and scriptures in the Americas? Well, grab your Mexican insurance for Inland Empire and get to the old Mexican town of Pueblo, which is the home to the grand Biblioteca Palafoxiana, a library built in the 17th century.
A short history of the Biblioteca Palafoxiana
The Palafoxiana Library was Mexico’s first public library and was a part of the Colegio de San Juan y San Pedro. Bishop Juan de Palafox y Mendoza had founded it in 1646. During that time, the library had a collection of 5000 books. In 1773, Bishop Don Francisco Fabian y Fuero commissioned the building of the Palafoxiana Library in the colonial district of Puebla for accommodating Bishop Juan’s bequest.
Palafox had a contribution certificate in which he expressed his wish of having a public library where everyone could study the liberal arts and science along with the clergymen. During the remodeling in Bishop Fuero’s time, the library was expanded enough to accommodate a larger number of manuscripts and books. The books covered all the subjects from astronomy and religion to philosophy and medicine.
The book collection increased to over 41,000 during the 19th century and the third level of bookcases had to be added to accommodate all the books. However, the older levels had already deteriorated due to insects and low maintenance, and these additional third-level bookcases resulted in increased damage during the 1999 earthquakes.
The present condition of Biblioteca Palafoxiana
At present, the Palafoxiana Library is a renowned book museum and it holds and preserves over 45,000 collections of books. It is also a research library under the ancient arched vaulted ceiling. Can you believe it? The library still has eight collections of Mexico’s first printed books dating back to the 16th century, along with nine books printed before 1500 in Europe.
You can find the oldest and rarest books from all over the world in this library. It has the Nuremberg Chronicle, which was published in 1493, two different versions of Malleus Maleficarum published in 1596 and 1669 respectively, and the De Humani Corporis Fabrica, which was first published in 1543.
The library still has many of its ancient elements like the bookshelves. After the earthquake, a vast-scale renovation was carried out and the library was brought back to its former glory. The bookshelves were improved in a way so that they can withstand earthquakes in the future. Perhaps the languages are incoherent to many of you but imagine seeing the first book ever printed. It is one of the best things you can ever experience.
Conclusion
The Biblioteca Palafoxiana is one of the oldest infrastructures not just in Mexico, but in the Americas. The ancient library with century-old furniture and books still intact is all about a dark academia aesthetic that is beloved by all the book lovers out there. Get the Mexico car insurance for Inland Empire and visit this perfect piece of heaven for book lovers.