The National Library in Madrid, which was founded in 1712 as Royal Library, is the largest of Spain; It contains over 4 million volumes. The most special collections of the library are old and rare books (sometimes copies only), maps, prints and Cervantes magnificent room, which is dedicated to the writings of the great Spanish novelist Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra. The library of the Royal Palace (1760) Madrid has many outstanding issues of the sixteenth century, and excellent collections of manuscripts, engravings and music. One of the most comprehensive libraries of Spain is the library of the Complutense University of Madrid, which contains more than 800,000 volumes and more than 270,000 brochures. The library of the Royal Monastery of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, near Madrid, is known for its collection of old and rare books; These include the world's finest collection of ancient books in Arabic. Archives and Library Council of Toledo Cathedral is famous for its collection of 3,000 manuscripts of the eighth and ninth centuries and more than 10,000 documents from the eleventh century.
One of the largest art collections in the world is in the National Museum of Painting and Sculpture, known as the Museo del Prado, Madrid. The collection is especially rich in works of Spanish painters such as El Greco, Diego de Silva Velazquez, Bartolome Esteban Murillo and Goya, of Italian painters such as Sandro Botticelli and Titian, Rembrandt and Dutch. The Reina Sofia Art Center of Madrid specializes in twentieth century painting. Also in the capital it is Villahermosa Palace, which houses the Thyssen-Bornemisza collection.
The National Archaeological Museum in Madrid has pottery, brocades, tapestries and ivory carvings and Spanish library also houses the country's largest on archeology. The National Museum of Anthropology, also in Madrid, contains objects from ancient Spanish possessions in Equatorial Guinea, the Philippines and several South American countries like Bolivia. Another important museum in Madrid is the Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales. In Barcelona they include the Maritime Museum, the Spanish Village Museum and the Archaeological Museum, which boasts a large collection of prehistoric art, Phoenician, Greek, Roman and Visigoth.
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