A Literary and Artistic Look at Spain's World Heritage Cities

The Tintablanca publishing house has embarked on the adventure of creating an extensive collection of books that celebrate the Spanish cities declared World Heritage Sites by UNESCO. Spanning 15 books, from Segovia to Toledo, the series invites readers to uncover the mysteries of the most beautiful and monumental cities through the eyes of thirty writers and illustrators, blending art and literature.

Alcalá de Henares, Ávila, Baeza, Cáceres, Córdoba, Cuenca, Ibiza, Mérida, Salamanca, La Laguna, Santiago de Compostela, Segovia, Tarragona, Toledo, and Úbeda form the group of cities renowned for their monumental heritage, culture, art, and charm. The volumes are beautifully crafted with organic cotton fabrics, natural dyes, and paper specially imported from Italy.

These books are not intended to be tourist guides but rather offer an intimate and unique journey through the heart of these cities as seen through the personal perspectives of renowned authors and artists.

Journalist and writer Jesús García Calero and illustrator Paula Varona explore the grandeur of Alcalá de Henares, a place where Cardinal Cisneros envisioned and established the first university campus in history. The best literati and philosophers gathered in a space where history is layered—from its Roman ruins to its corral de comedias (comedy courtyard), which adapted over time to social uses—and including the house of Miguel de Cervantes, described by Calero with strokes of a picaresque novel character.

The author is irresistibly drawn to the figure of Cardinal Cisneros, founder of the university, confessor to Isabella I of Castile, patron, and a character whose image has been blurred by myth: "We have an archbishop-like image of him, even inquisitorial due to his involvement in the conquest of Granada, which is a very dark chapter in his life. But what is fascinating is everything else. When he turned 60, he began his political life. He carried the crown twice on his shoulders because everything went wrong for the Catholic Monarchs; their heirs died. What’s important about Cisneros is his drive for the Polyglot Bible, thanks to which Divino Valles’ medicine was born."

García Calero, head of Culture at ABC newspaper, discovered that Valles—a representative of Renaissance medicine—performed one autopsy a month to learn anatomy 80 years before Rembrandt's famous autopsy painting era when only one autopsy was done annually. And what about Miguel de Cervantes? Voluminous books have been written covering all aspects of Cervantes' knowledge. "I've read the latest published biographies and ultimately conclude that Cervantes was a man who sought to make a living and only wrote seriously when things went wrong for him."

According to the writer, it’s good to take 'Don Quixote's author out of his niche. "Cervantes is a product of a family with quite a shady past. His grandfather was thoroughly corrupt—he stole, tortured, kidnapped, and stole again. His father wasn't as adept in the underworld; he was a poor man who went bankrupt." As a child, Cervantes faced endless hardships and hunger—a circumstance that explains why he wrote a transgressive and innovative book that founded modern novel writing. "Miguel de Cervantes was a go-getter; he came from a world where he was the poorest—a hustler."

Writer Fanny Rubio and artist Valle Galera de Ulierte delve into Baeza's streets and squares where Antonio Machado's poetry resonates. Journalist Raúl del Pozo and artist Miki Leal paint Cuenca's mysteries—a city that swings between two gorges. Poet Antonio Colinas and Patricia de Norverto explore Ibiza's intimate fiber—a place encircled by light—a light with which Colinas could "breathe with ease."