Fundación San Millán de la Cogolla and Fundación Iberdrola España renew their collaboration to restore part of the Yuso Monastery Library collection

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Fundación San Millán de la Cogolla and Fundación Iberdrola España renew their collaboration to restore part of the Yuso Monastery Library collection

  • Six books from the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries will be restored, as they require urgent intervention due to their fragile state of preservation. Among the selected volumes are Divinum ac proinde inestimabile…, one of the most notable works by the theologian and Dominican friar Sancho Porta; Tractatus de sphera, connected to the disciplines of the Quadrivium and written by Johannes de Sacrobosco, a 13th-century professor at the University of Paris; and a 1706 edition of Don Quixote
  • Fundación Iberdrola España has been supporting the initiative to restore the documentary collections of the Monastery library since 2012

Fundación Iberdrola España and Fundación San Millán de la Cogolla have renewed their collaboration agreement, which will enable continued work on restoring part of the collection of the Yuso Monastery Library, one of the most important monastic libraries in the Spanish-speaking world, a cultural asset declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997.

Through this new agreement, Fundación Iberdrola España will contribute €15,000 for the restoration of six books from the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries that require urgent intervention due to their serious state of deterioration. This follows the approval of the Augustinian Fathers, owners of the Library, and the Higher Council of Cultural, Historical and Artistic Heritage of La Rioja.

The signing ceremony was attended, on behalf of La Fundación San Millán de la Cogolla, by its vice-president, José Luis Pérez Pastor, and general coordinator, Almudena Martínez; on behalf of Fundación Iberdrola España, its director Ramón Castresana and the head of the art-culture and biodiversity areas, Antonio Collada; as well as the prior of the Yuso Monastery, José Ramón Pérez, and Iberdrola’s institutional delegate in La Rioja, Eduardo Ryan.

Pérez Pastor expressed his gratitude to Fundación Iberdrola España for its ongoing support of the work carried out by Fundación San Millán de la Cogolla, and particularly for its role in protecting and preserving the monasteries of San Millán. “There is no doubt,” he stated, “ that the holdings of the Yuso Library, heir to the former Suso scriptorium, are of fundamental importance for bibliographic history, and their conservation is a priority task for this Community.”

For his part, Ramón Castresana, director of Fundación Iberdrola España, highlighted that “contributing to the restoration of these codices of great heritage value is one of the ways in which Fundación Iberdrola España promotes the preservation of the cultural richness of our language.”

During the same event, the restored books from the most recent agreement signed in 2025 between the two institutions were presented: seven codices from the 16th and 17th centuries.

A total of 60 volumes restored since the beginning of the collaboration

Since Fundación San Millán de la Cogolla began the extensive task of restoring the Library in 2003, with the support of Fundación Iberdrola España since 2012, a total of 60 highly valuable volumes have been restored over the past thirteen years. In addition, Fundación Iberdrola España contributed to the restoration of the grille of the Main Altar of the Yuso Monastery, the refurbishment of the Sala de Fábrica, and improvements to both the interior and exterior lighting of Yuso.

Fundación San Millán de la Cogolla

Fundación San Millán de la Cogolla aims to protect and care for the monasteries of Suso and Yuso; to research, document and promote the Spanish language; and to foster the social, economic, cultural and tourism development of San Millán de la Cogolla and its surrounding area.

It also acts as a coordinating agent among public administrations, institutions, associations, companies and individuals committed to the protection and promotion of this site, both nationally and internationally.

125 años luz: a wide-ranging programme for society

This agreement forms part of the extensive and varied programme designed for 2026 to mark the 125th anniversary of Iberdrola’s founding, which includes art exhibitions, music festivals, technological showcases and social events. Under the slogan 125 años luz, the company will launch initiatives aimed at its employees, customers, shareholders and the general public to bring its legacy closer to society as a whole and, above all, to share its vision, future outlook and strong commitment to the communities in which it operates.