- The government delegate in the Basque Country presents “The Basque Country in the maps between the 2nd and 18th centuries” open to the citizens from tomorrow to the end of the year in the government subdelegation in Álava
- This exhibition is framed in the activities of the Open House Week of the General State Administration
The Basque Country has been on the maps since at least the year 150. This is demonstrated by the exhibition that from tomorrow can be seen in the subdelegation of the Government in Álava and that will remain open to the public until the end of the year before continuing its journey through the subdelegations of Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa.
The exhibition ‘The Basque Country on maps between the 2nd and 18th centuries’ was presented this morning by the government delegate in the Basque Country, Marisol Garmendia, who stressed that “thanks to this exhibition, the Basque public will be able to locate their land where it was and where it is. Trying to change the confines of the Basque Country is more like identity dreams than reality.” The exhibition is part of the various activities programmed on the occasion of the Open House Week of the General Administration of the State that has been taking place in the three subdelegations of the Basque Country.
Garmendia has praised the quality of the exhibition because “it is important to recognize the reality in which we live. We live in a world full of real maps, maps built from concrete data, objective facts and irrefutable truths.” And it is that moving away from this reality can lead to unwanted consequences. “Many times there is a tendency to create imaginary maps, to build dreams that do not correspond to reality. It is dangerous to let oneself be carried away by desires, by fantasies, without stopping to think about the consequences that this can have,” said the government delegate.
The importance of sticking to reality has been underlined by Marisol Garmendia. “Reality is something tangible, something we cannot ignore or underestimate. Real maps guide us on the right path, showing us the truth without filters or embellishments. If we cling to imaginary maps, we will be doomed to get lost in a maze of illusions and lies. I invite you to reflect on the maps that guide our lives, on the daydreams that take us away from reality. Only in this way can we build a solid and lasting future, based on firm foundations and clear ideas.”
The exhibition ‘The Basque Country on maps between the 2nd and 17th centuries’ is endorsed by the National Geographic Institute and curated by the geographer engineer Marcos Pavo. The attendees of the presentation, among whom were also the Government’s subdelegate in Álava, Mar Dabán, and the director of the Delegation’s Development area, Endika Urarán, enjoyed a guided tour after the presentation.
The Open House Week of the AGE includes other exhibitions such as that of Enrique Isturiz in San Sebastián and talks and round tables on international vaccination, immigration procedures, or guided visits to the border inspection post of the Port of Bilbao or the Meteorological Observatory of Igeldo that has just been designated by the UN as the only centenary maritime and land meteorological center in Spain and the tenth in the world.