As indicated in the First Circular, Alcalá de Henares is a remarkable and celebrated city, located approximately 30 km northeast of Madrid and only 19 km from the International Airport of Madrid-Barajas. Its Historic Quarter is today one of the most beautiful and best Renaissance and Baroque urban centres preserved in Europe, and was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1998. Alcalá was an important city for the so-called Three Cultures, where Christians, Jews and Muslims have lived peacefully together for centuries. It has a university founded in 1499 by the Cardinal Cisneros, editor of the first polyglot Bible. Alcalá, birthplace of Cervantes, author of “Don Quixote”, is the capital for culture and tourism of the Madrid region. Besides the great historical value of the city, one of its advantages is that the congress and accommodation facilities will be close together. The websites infospain or turismoalcala also have comprehensive lists of touristic information about the city.

The selection of Spain for this Symposium is a good opportunity to learn about the geology of the Iberian Peninsula, which comprises the most extensive outcrops of Ordovician rocks in Europe. These are representatives of a special high-palaeolatitudinal domain related to the southern polar margin of Gondwana, and this is also the first time that the region is the focus for an official Symposium of the Ordovician Subcommission.

Expected weather

The dates selected in late spring are ideal for Alcalá de Henares, when fair weather and daily temperatures ranging from 20 to 28°C (lows between 10-15°C) are typical. Such conditions will probably also apply to the field trip destinations as well.

Accompanying persons

The Tourist Office in Alcalá de Henares will provide a special programme for accompanying persons for either 24 or 48 hours, visiting the main museums and monuments of this World Heritage City. The city of Madrid is also very accessible, with its commercial and historic center (Puerta del Sol) only 45 minutes away by train. Accompanying people need not register for the Symposium, but if they want to attend the Symposium dinner or any of the Symposium field trips, they will need to make reservations and pay the respective fees for those events.

Renaissance façade (built in 1550s) of the Cisnerian University, where the symposium will be held.