Francisco Layna Serrano was born in Luzón (Guadalajara) Spain on June 27, 1893, and died in Madrid in 1971. He was a doctor and historian of the province of Guadalajara, of which he would become an official chronicler. His works constitute some of the first historical studies on the province of Guadalajara. The author spends his early years in his birth town, Luzon, and in Ruguilla, where his family moves. He studied Baccalaureate at the Institute of Guadalajara and Medicine at the Complutense University of Madrid. As a doctor he came to acquire a certain fame in the specialty of otorhinolaryngology and as founder of the Post and Telegraph Medical-Surgical Association. It would not be until the 1930s when Layna Serrano would undertake his work as historian of the province of Guadalajara, of which he would be named official Chronicler in 1934. His desire to recover historical memory was linked to a firm will to preserve the historical-artistic heritage of the province. For this reason, he would also become a Chronicler of the City of Guadalajara, a member of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando and of the Hispanic Society of America -he was one of the few Spaniards who at the beginning of the 20th century was fluent in English- and received the Fastenrath Prize of the Royal Academy of Language and the Gold Medal of the Province of Guadalajara after his death in 1971. In 1922 he published his first work, El Monasterio de Ovila, a defense of the monument, which had been looted as a result of its purchase by the American billionaire William Randolph Hearst, who moved part of it stone by stone to his mansion in California. In 1933 he published Castillos de Guadalajara, the result of a visit to each of the fortresses in the province, leaving an interesting testimony of their conservation and location prior to the Civil War. Finally, in 1942 he published History of Guadalajara and its Mendozas in the 15th and 16th centuries, the result of intense research on the Mendoza family. Starting in 1943, his works Los conventos antiguos de Guadalajara and Historia de la Villa de Atienza came to light, both with very revealing data on the provincial historical development. Of the same type is the Historia de la Villa de Cifuentes, published in 1955. Another of his works of interest is Romanesque architecture in Guadalajara, precisely because it is, together with that referred to convents and castles, the result of trips throughout the province to the monuments. Work • The monastery of Óvila (1932). Reissue: Aache editions, Guadalajara, 1988, ISBN 978-84-95179-02-9. • Castles of Guadalajara (1933). Reissue: Aache editions, Guadalajara, 1994, ISBN 978-84-87743-47-4. • Romanesque architecture in the province of Guadalajara (1935). Reissue: Aache editions, Guadalajara, 2001, ISBN 978-84-95179-58-6. • The Palace of the Infantado (1941). Reissue: Aache editions, Guadalajara, 1996, ISBN 978-84-87743-78-8. • History of Guadalajara and its Mendozas in the s. XV and XVI (1942). Reissue: Aache editions, Guadalajara, 1993, ISBN 978-84-87743-27-6. • The ancient convents of Guadalajara (1943). ISBN 978-84-00-00610-5. • History of the Villa de Atienza (1945). Reissue: Aache editions, Guadalajara, 2004, ISBN 978-84-96236-25-7. • The province of Guadalajara (1948), together with Tomás Camarillo. • History of the town of Cifuentes (1955). Reissue: Aache editions, Guadalajara, 1997, ISBN 978-84-87743-82-5. In addition, Layna contributed with many other articles to the knowledge and dissemination of the history, culture and artistic heritage of the province of Guadalajara. It is worth noting its extensive photographic collection that brings together more than 2,500 images, dated between 1917-1970. Francisco Layna Serrano was born in Luzón (Guadalajara) Spain on June 27, 1893, and died in Madrid in 1971. He was a doctor and historian of the province of Guadalajara, of which he would become an official chronicler. His works constitute some of the first historical studies on the province of Guadalajara. The author spends his early years in his birth town, Luzon, and in Ruguilla, where his family moves. He studied Baccalaureate at the Institute of Guadalajara and Medicine at the Complutense University of Madrid. As a doctor he came to acquire a certain fame in the specialty of otorhinolaryngology and as founder of the Post and Telegraph Medical-Surgical Association. It would not be until the 1930s when Layna Serrano would undertake his work as historian of the province of Guadalajara, of which he would be named official Chronicler in 1934. His desire to recover historical memory was linked to a firm will to preserve the historical-artistic heritage of the province. For this reason, he would also become a Chronicler of the City of Guadalajara, a member of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando and of the Hispanic Society of America -he was one of the few Spaniards who at the beginning of the 20th century was fluent in English- and received the Fastenrath Prize of the Royal Academy of Language and the Gold Medal of the Province of Guadalajara after his death in 1971. In 1922 he published his first work, El Monasterio de Ovila, a defense of the monument, which had been looted as a result of its purchase by the American billionaire William Randolph Hearst, who moved part of it stone by stone to his mansion in California. In 1933 he published Castillos de Guadalajara, the result of a visit to each of the fortresses in the province, leaving an interesting testimony of their conservation and location prior to the Civil War. Finally, in 1942 he published History of Guadalajara and its Mendozas in the 15th and 16th centuries, the result of intense research on the Mendoza family. Starting in 1943, his works Los conventos antiguos de Guadalajara and Historia de la Villa de Atienza came to light, both with very revealing data on the provincial historical development. Of the same type is the Historia de la Villa de Cifuentes, published in 1955. Another of his works of interest is Romanesque architecture in Guadalajara, precisely because it is, together with that referred to convents and castles, the result of trips throughout the province to the monuments. Work • The monastery of Óvila (1932). Reissue: Aache editions, Guadalajara, 1988, ISBN 978-84-95179-02-9. • Castles of Guadalajara (1933). Reissue: Aache editions, Guadalajara, 1994, ISBN 978-84-87743-47-4. • Romanesque architecture in the province of Guadalajara (1935). Reissue: Aache editions, Guadalajara, 2001, ISBN 978-84-95179-58-6. • The Palace of the Infantado (1941). Reissue: Aache editions, Guadalajara, 1996, ISBN 978-84-87743-78-8. • History of Guadalajara and its Mendozas in the s. XV and XVI (1942). Reissue: Aache editions, Guadalajara, 1993, ISBN 978-84-87743-27-6. • The ancient convents of Guadalajara (1943). ISBN 978-84-00-00610-5. • History of the Villa de Atienza (1945). Reissue: Aache editions, Guadalajara, 2004, ISBN 978-84-96236-25-7. • The province of Guadalajara (1948), together with Tomás Camarillo. • History of the town of Cifuentes (1955). Reissue: Aache editions, Guadalajara, 1997, ISBN 978-84-87743-82-5. In addition, Layna contributed with many other articles to the knowledge and dissemination of the history, culture and artistic heritage of the province of Guadalajara. It is worth noting its extensive photographic collection that brings together more than 2,500 images, dated between 1917-1970.