Today, 24 October, on Libraries Day, the MARQ joins in the celebration by exhibiting, in the Sala Noble of its Library, the work Observations on the natural history, geography, agriculture, population and fruits of the Kingdom of Valencia. (1795-1797) by the distinguished Valencian priest, botanist and naturalist Antoni Josep Cavanilles i Palop, born in Valencia on 16 January 1745 and died in Madrid on 5 March 1804.
Cavanilles was a Spanish enlightened scientist, botanist and naturalist, confirmed as the main national precursor of modern theories on the orderly use of natural resources and sustainable development.
In the spring of 1791, Charles IV commissioned him to carry out a study of the plants in Spain, which he began with the former Kingdom of Valencia, making an intense itinerary throughout the length and breadth of its territory between 1791 and 1793. This study bore fruit in the first edition of his work, in which he did not limit himself to the study of flora, but offered a wide range of technical and scientific disciplines, such as Botany, Cartography, Hydrology, Agronomy, Medicine and Archaeology, among others.
In his work he highlights the character and idiosyncrasy of the people, their industriousness and determination to prosper with the rudiments of the time:
"To appreciate the merit of those men, it is necessary to observe the quality of the land, converted into orchards for the benefit of the zuas (*). The cuts that are preserved in various parts adjoining the orchard show a group of chinas and sandy soil, which looks like rock due to its hardness and sterility: nevertheless, they break it up, turn it upside down and make it up to reduce it to cultivation".
(*) weirs
This year's theme, "For a sustainable future", aims to highlight the fundamental role played by all types of libraries (public, school, university, specialised, national or regional) in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda.
Through their collections, services and user activities, libraries contribute to building an increasingly better informed, more egalitarian, caring and just society, fully aware of the need for a sustainable way of life as a commitment to future generations.
#DiaDeLesBiblioteques #Per un futur sostenible
