• Seven codices from the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries will be restored, which require urgent intervention due to their value and delicate state of preservation
• Fundación Iberdrola España has been collaborating since 2012 for the recovery of the Monastery Library’s documentary collections.

For another year, Fundación Iberdrola España and Fundación San Millán de la Cogolla have renewed the collaboration agreement that will allow them to continue with the recovery of part of the collections of the Library of the Monastery of Yuso.

After receiving the approval of the Augustinian Fathers, owners of the Library, and the Higher Council for Cultural, Historical, and Artistic Heritage of La Rioja, this new agreement with the Fundación Iberdrola España will restore seven codices from the 15th, 16th, and 17th centuries, which require urgent intervention due to their value and delicate state of conservation.

The director of the Fundación Iberdrola España, Ramón Castresana, and the general coordinator of the Fundación San Millán de la Cogolla, Almudena Martínez, signed the agreement in a ceremony this morning, in the presence of the Minister of Culture, Tourism, Sports and Youth and first vice-president of the Fundación San Millán de la Cogolla, José Luis Pérez Pastor; the president of the Fundación Iberdrola España, Fernando García; and the prior of the Monastery of Yuso, José Ramón Pérez.

Since the San Millán de la Cogolla Foundation began in 2003 the enormous task of recovering the Library, with the help of Fundación Iberdrola España, since 2012, nearly 600 volumes of one of the most important monastic libraries in the Hispanic sphere, that of the Monastery of Yuso, have already been restored. Specifically, Fundación Iberdrola España has collaborated over the last ten years in the restoration of a total of 52 valuable codices.

The selection of the set of books has been made by the Augustinian Fathers and Ana Jessen, in whose workshop the restoration will be carried out. The state of conservation is very varied; in general terms, the covers show damage resulting from loss of support due to use, poor handling, format, problems of dehydration of the leather and parchment, general dirt, and stains of unknown origin. The paper also shows deterioration caused by use, such as general soiling, damp stains, losses, tears, deformations, and attacks by hippophagous insects.

Fundación Iberdrola España has been collaborating with the Fundación San Millán de la Cogolla for several years, during which it has participated in the restoration of the grille of the High Altar of the Monastery of Yuso and the restoration of the Exhibition Hall.  Another collaboration agreement for the interior and exterior lighting of the Monastery of Yuso was also concluded.

San Millán de la Cogolla Foundation and Fundación Iberdrola España

The purpose of the Fundación San Millán de la Cogolla is to protect and care for the monasteries of Suso and Yuso; to research, document and disseminate the Spanish language; and to promote the social, economic, cultural, and tourism development of San Millán de la Cogolla and its surroundings.

It also acts as a cohesion agent for all the administrations, institutions, associations, companies, and individuals committed to the protection and dissemination of this place, both nationally and internationally.

For its part, Fundación Iberdrola España, since its creation, has been committed to the energy, cultural, and social development of the communities in which it is present. In this sense, Fundación Iberdrola España represents a further step in this commitment, by promoting initiatives that contribute to improving the quality of life of people. One of the Foundation’s main areas of action focuses on the care, maintenance, and promotion of art and culture.

This project is in addition to others that the company has carried out in recent years, including the illuminations of the facade of the Palacio de los Chapiteles in Logroño, the Monastery of Guadalupe, the Roman Bridge of Talavera de la Reina and the Plaza Mayor of Sigüenza, among others, as well as exhibition projects such as El Prado in the streets.

Monasteries of Yuso and Suso

The Monasteries of Suso and Yuso in San Millán de la Cogolla (La Rioja) were declared World Heritage Sites by UNESCO in 1997 because they represent an exceptional testimony to the introduction of Christian monasticism in the 6th century and its continued survival to the present day, and for being the place where the first written manifestations of the Spanish language appeared.