On February 7, at the Mission Gallery, Deputy Foreign Minister Irena Dimitrova and Spanish Ambassador to Bulgaria Alejandro Polanco Mata opened the Longest Journey exhibition, dedicated to the first tour of the earth 5 centuries ago. The exhibition was initiated by the Spanish Embassy in Sofia, in partnership with the State Cultural Institute under the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Deputy Minister Irena Dimitrova stressed the traditionally excellent relations between Bulgaria and Spain, stressed the active role of the Embassy in Sofia and expressed the readiness of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for new joint projects. Ambassador Polanco Mata thanked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the excellent cooperation in the last two years and thanked the Bulgarian institutions for the warm welcome, as well as for their assistance in organizing events that enable Spain to be widely represented in Bulgaria. The director of the State Cultural Institute Snezhana Yoveva-Dimitrova pointed out the excellent partnership in the cultural sphere and that in less than 6 months this is the second public event held jointly with the Embassy of the Kingdom of Spain in Bulgaria.
The exhibition "The Longest Journey" aims to mark and promote the first tour of the earth as a key journey in world history and to pay tribute to the research spirit of man and his attitude to the unknown and knowledge. The multimedia exhibition, conceived as a concept map of the first circumnavigation, is shown for the first time in Bulgaria. 500 years ago in Seville, Spain, began a long-awaited journey of mankind - on the unexplored side of the Earth to the mythical Orient and the Spice Islands. This voyage, begun by Fernando Magellan in 1519, will be the longest in an era: the first tour of the world, completed in 1522 by Juan Sebastian Elcano and the crew of the ship Victoria. The exhibited content is developed through a chronological line, which tells the most important events and feats of the first tour of the Earth. Fifteen panels combine attractive images and graphics with short messages. Seven of the panels have a QR code that provides visitors with additional multimedia information with audiovisual materials that evoke the sensations of this historic journey. They can be accessed from any digital device. The exhibition is accompanied by a short documentary that brings together all these videos and transports us to the world of travel and new knowledge about the world.
The exposition can be viewed until February 25, 2022 in the Mission Gallery between 10 am and 5 pm, subject to current anti-epidemiological measures.