Fundación Juanelo Turriano, created by José Antonio García-Diego in 1987, is a private educational institution registered by the Ministry of Education (Official State Journal, 15 March 1989).

The foundation’s mission is to further the study of the history of the various branches of science and technology, with particular emphasis on the history of engineering.

Fundación Juanelo Turriano defends free and universal access to culture. With new technologies, dissemination acquires a worldwide dimension. Many of the foundation’s activities, such as its digital library and publications, the García-Diego International Prize for research and the Turriano ICOHTEC Prize, pursue that objective.

The foundation’s name is a tribute to a brilliant scientist from Cremona who came to Spain to enter the service of King Charles V. Giovanni Torriani (circa 1500-1585), known in Spain as Juanelo Turriano, was a master clockmaker and device builder. He nonetheless owes his fame to a large-scale mechanical and hydraulic artifice, the so-called “Artifice of Toledo”, designed to supply the imperial capital with water.

Since its creation, Fundación Juanelo Turriano has engaged intensely in the following activities:

• book publication
• exhibitions
• the biennial García-Diego prize for unpublished research
• grants for PhD. dissertations
• partnering with public and private institutions in defence of the industrial and public works heritage
• delivery of summer or university outreach courses in collaboration with several Spanish universities
• participation in conferences, courses and international congresses
• library conservation and management, enlarging the collection, restoring its oldest and digitising its most significant books for subsequent posting on the Internet. The library is open to anyone interested in the history of science and technology

José Antonio García-Diego (1919-1994)

civil engineer, skilfully combined his professional and business activities with the study of the history of technology. After devoting much of his life to this pursuit, he crowned the endeavour in 1987 with the creation of Fundación Juanelo Turriano, to which he bequeathed his fortune and a valuable scientific library.

Some of his most fruitful historic research was related to hydraulic engineering: the discovery of Giovanni Francesco’s manuscript Sitoni Tratatto delle virtù et propietá delle acque; his exhaustive study of a manuscript entitled Los Veintiún Libros de los Ingenios y Máquinas de Juanelo Turriano; and, especially, his analysis of the Artifice of Toledo and the designs for its construction. He was also a distinguished “Betancourtist”, as he himself called the scholars who studied the life and work of illustrious engineer Agustín de Betancourt.