Issue date: 23 Apr, 2021
BICENTENARY OF THE ATENEO DE MADRID
With an image of the spectacular library of the Ateneo de Madrid, Correos celebrates the second centenary of this institution.
The Ateneo de Madrid has been a meeting place for the arts, literature and science for more than two centuries, welcoming everybody, whether they were atheists or religious, republicans or monarchists, conservatives or liberals. They all mingled in a civilised manner, accepting and respecting different ideas in debates and discussions.
The Ateneo greets us with three great figures of Spanish culture: Velázquez representing the arts, Alfonso X of Castile for the sciences, and Cervantes for literature.
Inside, we can visit the Portrait Gallery, with pictures of the most important figures who contributed to the intellectual wealth of this institution. Names like Cánovas del Castillo, Valle Inclán, or Emilia Pardo Bazán, who was elected president of the literary section, a remarkable achievement for her time, and still the only woman to have a portrait in this gallery.
The library, the main reason for this stamp issue, has over 150,000 monographic titles in approximately 350,000 volumes. It is an encyclopaedic library, covering all kinds of subjects and genres. Interestingly, at the time of its greatest splendour it used to open at 9 am and close at 2 am, and even served food. There is still a legend that if you study in this library you will never fail an exam.
Another special room is the Auditorium, where 19th-century politicians used to rehearse their speeches over and over before presenting them in Congress.
In brief, this institution is a living legacy of Spanish culture, the witness to some of the most important moments in our history, and anyone who enters it today can feel that special sensation of travelling to the past through the places of the present.
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