by Nicole Falconi, 11.05.2025-25.05.2025
Project: Emmy Noether Gruppe (DFG): Anatomische Theater der frühen Neuzeit zwischen Kunst, Natur und Wissenschaft
In preparation for upcoming research trips to Peru and Mexico in 2026, the research stay in Spain included a brief stop in Seville. The city, once the administrative and commercial gateway to the “New World,” being the only port awarded the royal monopoly for trade with the Spanish Americas in the 16th century, holds major historical relevance with institutions and sites such as the Consejo de Indias and the Casa de la Contratación, in which a variety of cartographers, archivists, and navigators — for example, the explorer Amerigo Vespucci — worked.
During the reign of Charles III, the Archivo General de Indias was established in Seville, housed in the Casa de Lonja de Mercaderes — the former seat of the merchant guild. This archive now conserves approximately 9 linear kilometers of colonial-era documents. The research conducted here focused on gathering information about the founding of the Anatomical Theatres in Lima and Mexico City, along with related institutions such as hospitals, universities, medical faculties and surgical academies — examining how imperial policies, as well as the transmission and adaptation of European models, shaped architecture, spaces and scientific practices in distant territories.
