Pere Maria Orts i Bosch (5 July 1921 – 26 February 2015) was a Valencian writer, historian, researcher, heraldist and art collector. He was a member of the Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua (Valencian Language Academy) and was awarded the High Distinction of the

Generalitat Valenciana The Generalitat Valenciana is the generic name covering the different self-government institutions under which the Spanish autonomous community of Valencia is politically organized. It consists of seven institutions including the ''Corts Valen ...

in 2006.

Biography

He was born on the city of Valencia on 5 July 1921. He went to the High School in the Piarist School of Valencia. Although he graduated in Law from in the University of Valencia in 1945, and his historian grandfather Pere Maria Orts i Berdin (1839) was a judge of the Superior Court of Valencia, he never practiced it. When he was 45 years-old, Orts moved to

Benidorm Benidorm is a town and municipality in the province of Alicante, Valencia, on the Mediterranean coast of Spain. Benidorm has been a tourist destination within Spain since 1925, when its port was extended and the first hotels were built, though ...

, where his paternal family lived, to conduct research directly related to ''la Marina'' (

Marina Alta Marina Alta (, "Upper Marina") is a central and coastal ''comarca'' of the autonomous community of Valencia, Spain. The ''comarca'' is located in the area of Alicante and its capital and largest settlement is the city of Dénia. Marina Alta borde ...

and Marina Baixa). His main goal was to find documents and works of art that were actually from the ancient

Kingdom of Valencia Kingdom commonly refers to: * A monarchy ruled by a king or queen * Kingdom (biology), a category in biological taxonomy Kingdom may also refer to: Arts and media Television * ''Kingdom'' (British TV series), a 2007 British television drama s ...

, hoping to complete Valencian patrimony and part of its lost history. As an art sponsor, he enlarged his family heritage by buying many works of art. He searched for unique objects in libraries, archives and museums outside

Valencian Country The Valencian Community ( ca-valencia, Comunitat Valenciana, es, Comunidad Valenciana) is an autonomous community of Spain. It is the fourth most populous Spanish autonomous community after Andalusia, Catalonia and the Community of Madrid with ...

, eventually donating most of them to Valencian public institutions, particularly to: *

Valencian Library The Valencian Library The Nicolau Primitiu Valencian Library (Idioma español, Spanish: ''Biblioteca Valenciana Nicolau Primitiu'') is the autonomic library from the Comunidad Valenciana (Spain). It’s the head of the Valencian Library System ...

: more than 11.000 volumes donated, including 13

incunable In the history of printing, an incunable or incunabulum (plural incunables or incunabula, respectively), is a book, pamphlet, or broadside that was printed in the earliest stages of printing in Europe, up to the year 1500. Incunabula were pr ...

s. * Museum of Fine Arts of Valencia saint Pius V: 229 paintings from the

Trecento The Trecento (, also , ; short for , "1300") refers to the 14th century in Italian cultural history. Period Art Commonly, the Trecento is considered to be the beginning of the Renaissance in art history. Painters of the Trecento included Giotto ...

until the 20th century were donated, as were artistic objects of great value. These encompassed 10 sculptures, chinaware of the ''Indian Company,'' glass from

Murano Murano is a series of islands linked by bridges in the Venetian Lagoon, northern Italy. It lies about north of Venice and measures about across with a population of just over 5,000 (2004 figures). It is famous for its glass making. It was on ...

, and a combined 69 pieces pottery both from Spain ( Manises, Talavera,

l'Alcora L'Alcora ( is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of Alcalatén, Valencian Community, Spain. History Traces of human presence in the area date from the Bronze Age. Also present are remains from the Iberian, Roman and Moorish ages, the latter inclu ...

and

Ribesalbes Ribesalbes is a municipality located in the province of Castellón, Valencian Community, Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultr ...

) and other countries (

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

). Among his other donations were 3 tapestries, 7 chalices, several candelabrums, 9 pieces of furniture, and even a silver writing desk. He died on 26 February 2015.

Writings

Works Orts wrote himself included:

Catalan Works

*''Arribada d'una imatge de la Verge a Benidorm'' (1972). *''Introducció a la història de la Vila-Joiosa i el notari Andreu Mayor'' (1972). *''L'almirall Bernat de Sarrià i la Carta de Poblament de Benidorm'' (1976). *''Història de la Senyera al País Valencià'' (1979) .This can be read on line in two parts
1ª part
an
2ª part
/ref> *''Carta Pobla de Benidorm'' (1987). *''Carta Pobla d'Altea'' (1988). *''Carta Pobla de la Núcia'' (1989). *''Notes sobre certs topònims valencians en el Llibre dels fets del rei En Jaume'' (1994) in the ''Saitabi'' review of the Faculty of Geography and History of the University of Valencia.

Spanish Works

* ''Una imagen de la Virgen en Benidorm'' (1965). *''Alicante, notas históricas (1373–1800)'' (1971). *''Regalismo en el siglo XVI. Sus implicaciones políticas en la Diputación de Valencia'' (1971). *''Los Borja: de Xàtiva a Roma. Notas acerca del origen y ascenso de los Borja'' (1995). Additionally, he wrote many articles about the history of Benidorm and the toponymy of the Marina Baixa in a review of the local holidays of Benidorm, many prologues for other books, and articles for collective works. He also collaborated with studies about genealogy and heraldry in the ''Great Encyclopedia of the Valencian Region'' (1972–77).

Awards and recognitions

* Official Chronicle and Adopted Son of Benidorm (23 December 1985). * Honour Award of the Valencian Letters (1996). * Honour Academic of the Saint Charles Royal Academy of Fine Arts of Valencia since 1999. * Honorary Son and Golden Medal of the City of Valencia. * High Distinction of the

(2006). *City of Benidorm cultural award (9 October 2008)

Positions

* Member of the Board of the Museum of Fine Arts of Valencia Saint Pius V (2001). * Member of the Valencian Academy of Language (2001). * Member of the Council of Libraries of the Education Department of the

since 1987. * Counselor of the commission for grants for the study of Valencian culture in 2000, 2003 and 2007. * Member of the judging panel for the ''Alfons el Magnànim'' prize in poetry in Valencian (2003).

References

External links

Pere Maria Orts i Bosch Archive (Valencian Library)

Website of the Valencian Language Academy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Orts I Bosch, Pere Maria 1921 births Catalan-language writers Historians of Spain Spanish genealogists Spanish art collectors University of Valencia alumni 2015 deaths