March 2026 will mark the 900th anniversary of the death of Urraca I of León, Castile, and Galicia, the first female queen in European history to ascend the throne in her own right, without a male consort. To mark this anniversary, the León City Council is organizing an ambitious exhibition that vindicates her figure against centuries of historical concealment and denigration. Acción Cultural Española (AC/E) is actively collaborating on this project, which seeks to do justice to a sovereign with a true vocation for governance.

An Unprecedented Sovereignty

Heir to her father Alfonso VI, Urraca I assumed the crown in a fundamental and unprecedented event in the medieval Hispanic kingdoms. Her exercise of power, marked by determination, led historically to a biased view of her reign simply because she was a woman. "She Reigns. Urraca I of León" proposes a historical and artistic journey to rediscover a woman who wanted to reign, was able to reign, and succeeded in doing so in an extremely complex context.

The Splendor of the Kingdom of León

The exhibition, which will take place at the Museo de León starting in March 2026, will bring together an exceptional selection of artworks from the late 11th century and the first three decades of the 12th century. The exhibition will cover various genres and formats, from painting and sculpture to numismatics, goldsmithing, enamels, and manuscripts, from prestigious national and international collections, including pieces on loan from the Louvre Museum.

Among the treasures that visitors will be able to admire is the Ivory Christ of San Juan Ortega, a key piece from the ivory workshop of which Queen Urraca herself was a patron, on loan for the occasion from the Archdiocese of Burgos.

Institutional Collaboration

This project is the result of close collaboration between various institutions to ensure scientific and museographic excellence. The curatorship, led by Gerardo Boto and José Alberto Morais, is supported by the coordination of the Acción Cultural Española (AC/E) technical team and the museographic design by Jesús Moreno & Asociados S.L.