España en la mirada de un estadista liberal rumano: Mihail Kogălniceanu y sus Notes sur l’Espagne (1846-1847) Spain in the View of a Liberal Rumanian Statesman: Mihail Kogănniceanu and His Notes sur l’Espagne (1846-1847)

The history of relations between Romania and Spain has an important historical and literary source in the travel books of the nineteenth century. The writings by diplomats, servicemen, politicians and writers have been particularly important to avoid certain clichés and stereotypes in the knowledge of other countries. During the first half of the nineteenth century, very few Romanians travelers arrived at the periphery of Europe where the Iberian Peninsula is located and, unfortunately, fewer still left a written testimony of their travels. Mihail Kogalniceanu (1817-1891), a Romanian liberal statesman who became prime minister and foreign minister in the 1860s, had the opportunity to visit Spain between 1846 http://dx.doi.org/10.18239/vdh.v0i6.013

Romanian travellers, crossing the territories of Europe for different reasons, reached the Iberian Peninsula as well. In this context, we shall mention the Romanian doctor of Macedonian origin, Iancu Filip, who travelled in the year 1820 in Spain and who, later on, in 1824, published in Marseilles, in France, a work including his travel impressions 8 .
However, shortly before the revolutionary year 1848, Spain was to be known directly also by the Moldavian historian and erudite Mihail Kogălniceanu (1817-1891). He made a voyage for pleasure (a romantic voyage) to Spain, which turned into one of knowledge and information in the years 1846-1847, living, during his stay in Madrid, in the home of count Candido Osuna 9 .
Consequently, the contribution of Mihail Kogălniceanu to the knowledge of Spain from a geographic, historical and political perspective was major for the 19 th century Romanian culture. Certainly, the Romanian historian, erudite, politician and diplomat saw Spain through the eyes of the romantic and future 1848 revolutionary 10 .

MIHAIL KOGĂLNICEANU AND HIS NOTES SUR L'ESPAGNE (1846-1847). HISTORIOGRAPHIC LANDMARKS
He arrived in Spain from Paris (France) in September 1846, two months later on 6/18 December 1846, Mihail Kogălniceanu was sending a letter to his friend Ion Ghica announcing him that he had been received in audience by Queen Isabel. At the beginning of the year 1847, on January 1/13, he was writing to him again, showing him that he had learnt Spanish as well in the meantime, being amazed at the same time by the numerous similarities between the Spanish people and the Romanian people. Later on, he was showing to the same Ion Ghica by another letter sent to him that he had studied a lot in Spain, where he had noticed that the history, the language, the character, the habits resembled very much those of Romania 11 . Spain on various occasions and even studied there, especially during the second half of the 19 th century (D. Berindei, "Spania în viziunea...", pp. 230-231). We shall mention, under these circumstances, the better known case of Andrei Vizanti, who was, in his quality of Romanian scholarship beneficiary, a student at the Faculty of Letters and Philosophy of the University of Madrid during the period 1865-1868 (Archivo Histórico National, Madrid, Universidades, 6887, expediente 1, Vizanti Basilio Andres); see, in this sense, also Francisco Javier Juez y Galvez, "El primer alumno rumano de la Central (1865-1868)" in Revista de Filologia Románica, 20 (2003), pp. 123-134. Some time earlier, in the year 1857, Spain was to be visited and known as well by the Romanian historian Vasile Alexandrescu Urechea in the context of his marriage to Francisca (Paquita) de Plano, the daughter of doctor de Plano, personal doctor of Queen Isabella II. Thus, in the month of August of the year 1857, after the marriage that took place in Paris, in France, the young couple left for Spain. V. A. Urechia visited in this context Barcelona  Following Mihail Kogălniceanu' visit and travel in Spain of the years 1846-1847, beside these letters sent to Ion Ghica, he also left us a holograph entitled Notes sur l'Espagne (Notes-Remarks-about Spain) 12 .
As it has been preserved, the manuscript containing Mihail Kogălniceanu' notes about Spain, partially written in French, hard to decipher, the pages having no number, no indications regarding the titles and the succession of the ideas, represents a memorialistic jewel containing a series of pieces of information written in no particular order about the political history of Spain, about its social classes, ethnographic pictures of the Spanish people's mores, images of the landscape in this country, special appreciations about the Spanish art and literature, as a whole, a picture of the Spanish society of the first half of the 19 th century. All these aspects are caught spontaneously, vividly and realistically, from the perspective of the revolutionary patriot of his country, always finding between Moldavia and Spain, its Latin sister, a series of similarities but also differences, about which he gives some scientific explanations 13 . Around 1840, when in Madrid were being celebrated the famous Spanish marriages that were close to triggering a European war, when there were discussions about who should be the husbands of the two daughters of Ferdinand VII, by that time, in Madrid was a Romanian, one of the best endowed of our contemporary history, Mihail Kogălniceanu. Mihail Kogălniceanu, representing at that moment certainly the most authentic form of the Romanian genius, was in Spain. We have at the Romanian Academy, about Spain, in his notes, a hundred manuscript pages of which just a few, and not the best, appeared here and there. A true literary treasure, which for almost one hundred years has been lying around in manuscript. Among others, the traveler narrates about the way he got to love Spain when he was fourteen reading Gonzalo de Cordoba; since then he had a vision of the Spanish world and tried to see it. He was very well received in the Spanish society. One of his sons has a volume of the Chronicles with a dedication to a dearly beloved, muy querida, a feminine person of Spain. He also knew the very beautiful daughter of the Duchess of Alba, who was to become Queen Eugenia 17 .
In his turn, in the year 1919, Nicolae Cartojan turned to good value a few pages of the notes about Spain of the historian Mihail Kogălniceanu, and later on D. Panaitescu-Perpessicius made a detailed literary analysis of them. Despite these remarkable efforts, the printing of Mihail Kogălniceanu's Notes about Spain took place during the second half of the 20 th century due to Augustin Z. N. Pop

THE MOTIVATION OF HIS VOYAGE TO SPAIN
Mihail Kogălniceanu (1817-1891), an outstanding personality of the Romanians' modern history, was born on September 6/18, 1817 in Iaşi (Moldavia). Even since his childhood he showed a special inclination for studying and learning, being willing to know. He was given lessons individually in the capital of Moldavia, his teachers being initially Gheorghe and the Transylvanian Gherman Vida, and then he continued to study at the French pension of Miroslava (near Iaşi) whose head was Victor Cuénin. In the year 1834 he left for studies abroad, together with the sons of the Moldavian ruler Mihai Sturdza, studies that he begins at Lunéville, in France, and finishes in Berlin, in Prussia. The contact with the West left an unmistakable mark on the young Kogălniceanu. Starting with the year 1837, he was also to affirm himself as a historian, publishing in Berlin, among other works, also Histoire de la Valachie, de la Moldavie et des Valaques transdanubiens.
In the year 1838, after having finished the studies abroad, at the University of Berlin, Mihail Kogălniceanu was to return to Moldavia, where he drew close to the social and national liberation movement. Two years later, in the year 1840, he created a printing press at Iaşi, being at the same time the founder of the periodicals Dacia literară and Arhiva românească.
History became for the Moldavian erudite and patriot the arm put in the service of the national liberation movement. In the year 1843, in the opening speech at Academia Mihăileanǎ, Kogălniceanu highlighted the special significance of history; later on, during the years that followed, he acquired a reputation of universally-recognized historian. Two years later, in 1845, Kogălniceanu began printing Letopiseţele Ţării Moldovei (The Chronicles of the Moldavian Country), being even since that time a restless collector and researcher of certain documents that he was going to publish in Iaşi 25 . Dacia, 2007, pp. 37-95. This reedition of Mihail Kogălniceanu's Notes about Spain, being also the most recent, shall be used by us henceforth as a main source of information for the research proposed. 21 E. Denize, Călători români..., pp. 6-8; Íd., Imaginea Spaniei în cultura românească..., pp. 116-121; Íd., "Viajeros del espacio rumano por España hasta finales del siglo XIX" in Revue Roumanie D Histoire, 3 (1986), pp. 207-211; Íd., "Spania şi literatura română...", pp. 502-504.  Mihail Kogălniceanu, who during that period was just 28, had acquired during his years of studies in Berlin (having as a teacher, among others, the famous German historian Leopold Ranke), notions in the domain of history, so that his voyage for pleasure (romantic voyage) turned into a scientific one, of knowledge and documentation. With his vivid curiosity and his bright and penetrating spirit of observation, he wanted to visit Spain as much as possible, to know its monuments reminding him of the medieval times, to admire the beauty of the Spanish lands and to know a series of details about the daily life. His notes were not limited only to some impressions, but were completed by historical-literary information 30 .
Mihail Kogălniceanu had always been fascinated by Spain, so that even since the first pages of his Notes he was declaring his love and sympathy for this country: Believe me, I have sympathy for Spain, I love it like my own country, I am overly lenient to its imperfections. In the entire writing I have avoided personalities. It is a people with great virtues. The first impression it produces cannot be pleasant, because it lacks comfort; yet, after a short stay, the foreigner grows accustomed, develops intimate connections which he regrets when he has to leave 31 . Mihail Kogălniceanu's Notes about Spain do not represent only the work of a historian, but also of a passionate writer who observed and admired the beauty, capturing the essence at the same time. In the pages of his Notes, Kogălniceanu was confessing one more of the reasons of his voyage: his interest and attraction, which he had felt even since his childhood and youth for this country 34 : faded away. One of my first preoccupations, when I opened the printing press of Dacia, was to encourage a young compatriot to continue this translation and one of the first books that saw the light of day at my printing press was Gonzalve de Cordoue. Whenever a book or a journal has shown to me the name of Spain, my desire to see it has grown. Long events, that forced me to leave my country, brought me to Spain. I visited this country closely 35 .
He would not forget to remember that when he had read the book of Schiller, called Don Carlos, he had dreamed himself in the halls of El Escorial and in the gardens of Aranjuez and his childhood dream had come true when he got to see them with his own eyes 36 .

SPAIN IN THE VIEW OF MIHAIL KOGĂLNICEANU EYES (1846-1847)
In his Notes about Spain, Mihail Kogălniceanu makes an ample presentation of the history of the Spanish people, based on the works consulted previously from which he uses precise data and based on which he had built his own personal perspective 37 .
Thus, in his Notes he evokes the most important moments of Spain's history 38 . The Romanian historian shows in this context a special interest for the kingdom of Granada and the Moors, whom he calls "a nation of knights and poets". 39 Mihail Kogălniceanu is falled in love with Spanish history. Wishing to highlight the general features of the history of the Spanish people, in this context he also makes an interesting parallel to the Romanians' history, the history of both of these peoples having in common the fight against the foreign dominion (Arab and Turkish) 40 . Under these circumstances, several pages of the Notes were dedicated to the Arab dominion. Mihail Kogălniceanu reminds of special episodes in the life of the Caliphs of Córdoba and Alhambra, describes the beauty and the brilliance of the Arab mosques and palaces with blooming gardens and fountains, showing the tenaceous work of this people that dug irrigation canals in Spain, bringing and planting in Europe trees and flowers from the hot countries of Asia and Africa, bringing to perfection the industry of silk and linen, and finally developing the universal culture, creating algebra and chemistry 42  consequently presents the situation of the Caliphate of Córdoba, during its climax period of the time of Abd-ar-Rahman III (912-961): The kingdom of Abd-ar-Rahman III is the golden age in the annals of Spain. Under his sceptre, the Arabs, the Mozarabs 43 , the Hebrews, all of them were endeavouring in everything to increase the material and intellectual welfare of the country [...] Swords and javelins, says an Arab chronicle, were turned into hoes and ploughs, and the fiercest warriers, into peaceful shepherds and ploughmen; the erudites were dealing with writings about agriculture, and as a result of this epoch we have the magnificent work of the Sevillan Abu Zakariya, who is showing the flourishing state of the agriculture of Andalusia 44 .
Regarding the fight of the Spanish people against the Muslim dominion, the Romanian historian shows that "Between Arabs and Asturians an epopee began, which lasted for seven centuries" 45 .
Consequently, Mihail Kogălniceanu clearly highlights the idea that two great civilizations, despite their qualities of progress and creativity, cannot live peacefully and mutually beneficially if the relations between them rely on force and domination 46 .
Regarding the rule of the Catholic kings, Fernando of Aragon (1479-1516) and Isabella of Castile (1474-1504), who laid the bases of a united Spain, Kogălniceanu describes their achievements in few but significant words. The historian expressed his admiration for King Fernando and queen Isabella as follows: "the first ones who could really be called Reyes de las Españas" 47 , showing that they put an end to the nobles' domination: "D. Fernando and donna Isabella were the first ones who began to defeat the nobles' arrogance and pride, and who, each one in his castle, assured the country's independence 48 ".
The Romanian historian appreciated that all these kings, Fernando of Aragon (1479-1516) and Isabella of Castile (1474-1504), put an end to the reconquering war waged by the Spanish people against the Muslim dominion 49 . Short appreciations regarding the historical reality were made by Mihail Kogălniceanu also regarding the 16 th Spanish century, Spain's point of political climax, but also of decay. The vision of the Romanian historian is special, on the one hand by the connection made between Spain's fall and religious fanaticism, and on the other hand between its fall and imperial expansion (the first being seen as a direct consequence of the second) 50 .
After this short but interesting appreciation, Mihail Kogălniceanu returns to the history of Spain of the beginning of the 19 th century and makes a few references regarding the fight of resilience of the Spanish people against Napoleon Bonaparte's dominion, all meaning an awakening from a long letargy 51 . "Then we see Spain again waking up as from a long lethargy, wounded, insulted, roaring with fury, rising against the Colossus of the century, against Napoleon, and remaining victorious when the armies of all the mighty men of Europe had not been able to defeat him 52 ".
The Romanian historian then describes with ample details the contemporary history of Spain, of his contemporary time. He catches in this context the essence of the historical process undergone by Spain during the first half of the 19 th century, as a fierce fight between the forces of the old and those of the new 53 . The Spanish political forces of conservatist essence are severely criticized by Mihail Kogălniceanu who contrasts them with Spain's beauties, the country being therefore compared to a mirror with two sides, one magnificent represented by her climate, by her blue sky and her perfumed nights, by her plantations of orange trees, palm trees and pomegranate trees, by poetry and heroism, by geniuses, by beautiful women, by love, and the other one ugly, represented by the bad government, by foreign traditions and laws, by the lack of a dynasty, by people who only see their interests: Spain is a two-sided mirror, one shows her to you under the most delightful perspective: it shows you a Spain with the most delightfully scented climate, planted with oranges, with palm trees, with pomegranate trees, with an azure sky, with perfumed nights, the Moor Spain, Catholic, poetic, loving, patriotic, the country of El Cid, of the tournaments, of the knights, of the great acts of arms [...] the country where the genius of Charles V and Philip II shone brightly, the Spain of Lope de Vega, of the Moors, of Velasquez, the country that ruled over Europe and America, the Spain of cathedrals, of religious processions, of tagmas of monks, of faith; the Spain of romantic adventures and of love, of beautiful women and castanets, of guitars, of serenades, the Spain of Count Almaviva, of Rosina and even of Figaro, finally the loving, heroic romantic Spain -this is the Spain on the liking of the poets, of the sensitive hearts, of friends, of all that is great, noble and beautiful. This Spain is getting lost day by day into the new Spain, by the Spain calling herself new, civilized, constitutional, reformed, where there is no order, from the government to the poor, where the leadership stands out by nothing else except by the example and the initiative of evil, where the only free places are those that were overlooked by the eyes of despotism, namely of the central government [...] where the national good is nobody's aim, where the holy names of country, freedom, happiness and people hide nothing else except dirty interests, the Spain ruined by credit and by abuses left behind by despotism, for centuries, the Spain full of Grandees, of titles [...], poor in great people, the new Spain that demolished the civilization and the institutions of the earlier centuries and so far edified nothing else except ruin. The Spain whose modern civilization is but a mean mosaic of ideas, of traditions, of disparate laws, from the French, the English, the Germans and the Italians [...]. This is today's Spain; the Spain that today only a foreign invasion, a strong dinasty could reform, a Spain with a weak dynasty, a misunderstood government, and Lilliputian statesmen [...] 54 .
Mihail Kogălniceanu was consequently feeling sorry for the state of Spain, where he perceived that no one was concerned about the future, about social, moral or material improvements, public hygiene, roads, encouraging agriculture and he was thinking that the country could be regenerated by the governance of a great king or by a revolution 55 .
He was particularly appreciative about the Spanish people that could form an army any time, about which he was thinking that it was going to have a great future because it 52 M. Popa was not affected by corruption and could be helped especially by the size of the country, by the workable land, which he was considering able of progress just as any other European people, but which had not managed to achieve a progress in tune with its capabilities given the selfish and conservative policy of the dominant classes, especially of the government: When someone analyzes the state of Spain, he sees that all evil comes from the government, which gives no impetus for anything, and draws no use from any feature of the people. Indeed, compare the industry of the American and of the English to that of the Spanish; what a difference! However, the American and the English is by no means more industrious than the Catalan, more diligent than the Valencian, more robust than the Aragonese, more skilled than the Biscayan, cleverer than the Galician, more dependable than the Castilian.
And, yet, the Spaniard, despite his physical and moral qualities, is at the lower step and the English at the upper step of the material and intellectual progress. The reason is the vice of the institutions, the bad breath of corruption, which despotism has breathed over Spain. Aye! May the Spaniards understand once and for all that without government, with no just and efficient institutions they will never get to regain their primordial state 56 .
As we were mentioning, on the occasion of his visit to Spain in 1846-1847, Mihail Kogălniceanu lived for a while in Madrid but he also visited other Spanish cities and also rural areas. Thus, particularly interesting are, in the context of the notes about Spain, Kogălniceanu's descriptions about the natural landscape of the country, about the zones that he visited. Under these circumstances, he was confessing about Spain: "Almost all those who want to travel in Spain imagine this country endowed and embellished with the gifts of voluptuous Italy! They could not be more wrong, because, leaving aside the Biscayan provinces and a few sea provinces, Spain has a particular landscape of her own, which, though barren, sad and gloomy, is not devoid of beauty 57 ".
In support of this fact, the author describes the central regions of Spain, considered its barn. He also shows that villages were rare, made up of red stones emerging as in flames in the light of the Sun, lacking the greenness of the trees and the presence of birds. In these areas, people seem to have become the enemies of the trees, which were cut to prevent the birds from taking shelter in them and destroying the harvest. However, the central lands were great, in harmony with the character of the inhabitants, being full of cattle herders, peasants peacefully minding their work. The landscape and the way of being of the people, modest and poorly dressed, made him think about his homeland, Moldova 58 . Castile, with its wide plains, with its large horizons, with its remote naked and stony mountains illustrates the majesty of the ocean. This province, just like Mancha, although the barn of Spain, due to the multitude of cereals it produces, looks desert. You see large and extended arable lands but you hardly find the arms that saw them. Villages are wide apart and rare. And, when you draw near them, you get scared by their landscape. These villages made up of red stones that seem in flames due to the hot son, you see them all put together, surrounded by walls [...]. For one thing is to be noted, the Castilian is the native enemy of trees. Not only does he avoid planting them, but he also unroots as many as he can of those that he finds [...]. In the entire Castile and Mancha, you will see no trees, but at the same time you will find no birds either. You can hardly find an eagle sometimes in the air moving round and round; you can hardly see a partridge in winter; yet, you will never see singing birds, the poetry of the forests; the only birds I have seen in the six months of my stay in Madrid and in all my trips around it were a few sparrows and a robin. [...] Yet, it is undeniable that the central provinces, too, have their greatness in harmony with the character of their inhabitants. The Castilian is poor, dressed in rags, but who will deny the greatness of his appearance? [...] Unaware, when I entered Castile I thought myself in the Romanian Countries and especially in the East 59 .
The description of the capital of Spain has a special place in Mihail Kogălniceanu's notes. Madrid seems almost asleep because of the heat, the daily activity recording an impetus only after daybreak and in the afternoon, yet in the evening and at night the city comes to life again, everything becoming mirific: In the summer at dawn Madrid like all the great cities is asleep; as the light of day grows, the noise of work and chariots increases; chariots, people, sellers [...]. But, since noon, this rumour grows dim and falls asleep for two hours, the lanes are deserted and only children and the French can be seen walking around; the heat becomes unbearable [...]. When the sun goes to sleep, the city begins to awaken. The deserted alleys of Prado begin to come to life again, the movement of enjoyment starts; they all pull aside the curtains of their windows; some stay in their balconies, others come out to walk to breathe the cool air, enjoying the departure of the tyrant of the day and the hall of Prado becomes full of beautiful women, whose hair is not covered, whose mantles are thin [...] When night becomes the master of the land [...] the sight becomes more beautiful; lights from everywhere, torches are lit in front of the chapels and the saints; you can hear Arab songs, guitars and castanets 60 .
The image of other cities in Spain, described by Mihail Kogălniceanu, is just as suggestive and impressive: Toledo, old Gothic city with its medieval, special perfume, which has not been preserved in other European cities, has remained a Moorish city, full of poetry, while Granada appears surrounded by the blue horizon with its orange trees, palm trees and the memory of the Moors.
I have seen Granada. Imagine a forest around a city, covered by the beautiful southern horizon, by that blue that you can only glimpse in Raphael's paintings. and in that forest you can see the orange tree with its golden fruit and its flowers, the sign of Granada's virginity, with its ruby stones that broke the arms of the Moors, the palm tree, the high cover meant to defend the passerby from the sun [...] 61 .
Beside the urban areas, the Romanian historian also visited rural areas. Describing Biscay he shows that the villages were beautiful, forested with trees and greenery, having schools, and he considers its inhabitants the most beautiful people in the world, who had never known any fear, shame or foreign dominion 62 . In the description of Spain, of the Spanish realities, Mihail Kogălniceanu often feels the need for a comparison to Romania, as he meets a series of similarities and differences between the two peoples. Thus, he notices that the horizon, the culture, the peasants' popular costume, the way oxen were yoked, the inhabitants' greetings, their way of being, the Spaniards' songs and dances, the memory of the heroes of the fight for freedom were making him feel like home, in Romania, and as in the East 63 .
Regarding the villages of Spain, the Romanian erudite shows that they were situated on top of the mountains, like fortresses, compared to the Romanian ones, which could be found in plain areas surrounded by orchards. In this context, he appreciates that the plains of Romania were greener than those of Spain. He does not forget to mention that in both countries on the side of the road there were stones or wooden crosses reminding of the departed in the afterworld. Kogălniceanu could also notice that in Spain just as in Romania, the inns were missing and where they were present, there was no Western comfort. However, he mentions that due to her similarity to Romania, he liked Spain a lot, despite her lack of comfort, with her peasants, with her bandits, with her good fellows, with her traditions and stories, with her poor and rich people, and so he always repeats "I like her again and again", or in Romanian words: "îmi place și iar îmi place".
When at an inn (venta) I could hear a peasant of Castile improvising songs, I would remember the dance of the Romanian lads, while the old men, watching them, were exhorting them by dancing to continue their singing. When I was walking up or down a mountain, the illusion was awful. Suddenly I could hear a monotonous and plaintive song, then I could see a group of horsemen and I would consider that I was looking at our mountain men going down from the Carpathians and heading to the fair of Fălticeni [...] In Spain, just as in Romania, one can often see a stone or a wooden cross by the road [...] another similarity between the two countries is the lack of inns [...]. Maybe I like this country because it resembles mine [...] with her bandits, with her lack of comfort, with her simple and polite peasants, with her good fellows, with her traditions and stories that you can find at every step, with her beggars, with her great boyars, I like her again and again 64 . The reiteration îmi place și iar îmi place (I like her again and again) represents a deep credo, a special affection and respect, seemingly a doubling of the realities in Romania, a return to them, which is why Mihail Kogălniceanu was feeling a sincere love for Spain, loving her like his own country. The Romanian erudite shows that the nature of the Spaniard is similar to that of the Romanian, everything having to do with people's humanity, with the feeling of longing, experiences discovered in the songs of the two peoples 65  The Spanish people, as all the Southern peoples that were in contact with the East, this great cradle of imagination and poetry, has an unmatched fondness of story-telling. Just like the Romanians, you can see them in the evening gathered together around an old man or an old lady, often a Gipsy woman, and they listen gladly to stories speaking about the fights of their ancestors against the Moors, the life of a famous thief and in which beauty plays a huge role. The lack of communications, the high price of the books, the scarcity of the topics for conversation, the countryside life, always in front of nature, makes stories be the most enjoyable way of spending time after sunset. There is no hill top, no piece of wall, bridge, abyss, cave that does not have its own legend, in which charm, incantation does not play a role. And, curiously enough, many of these stories resemble the Romanians' stories [...] 67 .
Even superstitions and beliefs seem similar in Kogălniceanu's opinion: treasures hidden in the earth long ago, "placed under the gardianship of spirits and of wizards", opening heavens' gates and finding out the place of a treasure using the "grass of iron" 68 .
The Spaniards' and the Romanians' compliments are, according to the Romanian erudite, similar 69 . Beside all the similarities, Mihail Kogălniceanu also finds a difference: Spaniards like nobility titles, whereas for the Romanians, they do not represent a preoccupation: A difference between the Romanians and the Spaniards is the latter's love for titles, shields and genealogy. In Asturias, at the gate of a hut, you see the family shield and you will find no Spaniard who does not say that he comes from a brilliant family [...]. But this contributes to the pride characterizing the Spaniards and which we, enslaved for hundreds of years, have lost 70 .
The Romanian erudite carefully observes the significant details of life in Spain, identifies the specific features of the Spaniards, helped as well by the experience acquired during his studies in Vienna and Berlin and by his experience in Paris. Practically this position of traveller in other European States, his social position in Moldova, but also the capital gathered through what he had read previously make him cherish a special feeling for Spain which was, for him, a revolutionary romantic, the country of his ideal dreams 71 .
Spain is charming him by everything he sees, by everything he knows about her, by everything he discovers. Yet, he is sometimes amazed by some aspects such as the social discrepancies, some too rich and others too poor, he is puzzled by the fact that the first "do nothing" while the second, too poor, leave themselves in the hands of chance, being helped by the mild climate, because "in Spain rags are no shame" 72 .
Mihail Kogălniceanu also wanted to understand the Spaniards' soul, his Notes having numerous accents of social psychology, as well. Thus, he shows that Spaniards love celebrations, that they are interested in corridas, processions, dances; politics and revolutions, but also the natural landscape attracts them, being sensitive to what is beautiful. He was showing, in this context, that even the queen of Spain was walking in Madrid in the middle of the people 73 .
The young Romanian historian took a close look at the daily life, as well, especially in Madrid, where for two months (February-March 1847) he lived in the middle of the high society 74 .
Thus, in Madrid, people, especially those of the high society, were travelling in their chariots or walking to Prado or Alasto, discussing various things out in the open for three hours and then having lunch. Then the people of Madrid were going to have fun, at the circus, at the ballet, at the opera. People of quality were then invited at Contess of Montijo. Mihail Kogălniceanu, too, who was living in Madrid at Count of Osuna, was often invited at Contess of Montijo, one of the most beautiful ladies, living together with her daughters: Duchess of Alba and Countess of Tena. The visits were taking place in the evening after the shows or on Sundays, when Countess of Montijo was offering "the most beautiful parties", or in the context of the fancy ball at the end of the Carnival. In this way he was noticing the luxury of the inhabitants of Madrid and also the seriousness of the Countess, in whose home there was no gossiping or discusing local politics. Mihail Kogălniceanu participated at the same time in the Royal Court balls, and he showed how simple they were, the queen and the royal infantas having only the privilege of inviting the cavaliers to dance through the senechal. Here, one could be invited at the recommendation of an ambassador. In this context, the Romanian erudite shows that foreigners were easily accepted in the high society of Spain based on a good recommendation, because the person to whom you were recommended was taking care of everything. At the same time, the young Moldovan was showing that în Spain you must never believe everything you are told. Sure, Mihail Kogălniceanu describes in his Notes not just the high society, his attention being turned to the people, to the ordinary people. He was mentioning in this context that, in general, the people of Madrid are joyful and like to have fun and do not lose any opportunity of getting out in the street and rejoicing. The ordinary people, therefore, had their own pleasures, too: celebrations, corridas, concerts, walks in the city, conversations in cafés. At night, one could hear the castanets and the guitars, songs, the parties being interrupted by the police only politely. In Madrid Kogălniceanu noticed that, in many homes, the man was missing, the ladies being more often than not accompanied by servants 75 .
On February 17, 1847, the Romanian erudite witnesses two events in Madrid: that of the funeral of the Duke of Zaragosa, which took place simultaneously to the end of the Carnival, the so-called ceremony of the burial of the sardine, which he describes in detail 76 .
The Spaniard, according to the appreciation of the Romanian historian, thinks beautifully, being helped by the natural conditions, being therefore temperate, in other words: Concluding, seemingly, the great Romanian erudite shows in his Notes that he was in Spain accomplishing the dream of his childhood and he saw its monuments, prayed in its cathedrals, participated in its celebrations, and spent his time in a vivid atmosphere that made him feel a real sympathy for Spain, which he was willing to visit once again before the end of his life: But, indeed, it is no lie, I have been in Spain; I have seen its monuments, I have witnessed its celebrations, I have prayed in its cathedrals, I have walked through its monuments, I have spent time under its balmy atmosphere and the impression she has left on me is just as vivid as before I entered it, and, if only God gave me days, I hope to see Spain once again 78 . On March 29, 1847, Mihail Kogălniceanu was writing to his friend Ion Ghica that the previous evening he had returned from Spain to France, in Paris, from where he was planning other voyages to Italy and Turkey 79 .
Although he had a long activity as a historian, politician and diplomat of modern Romania 80 he no longer had the occasion to see Spain again until the end of his life in the year 1891 81 .

CONCLUSIONS
The 19 th century represented a climax regarding the Romanians' presence in Spain, the latter obviously contributing to the dissemination of the knowledge about Spain in the Romanian Principalities and later on in Romania. The reasons of the voyages to Spain were very diverse, from the economic and political ones to those of study or leisure.
Spain attracted the Romanians especially by its Romantic charm, by the tragedy of her history, but especially by its special landscapes. At the same time, the common Latin origin of the two languages and peoples constituted a supplementary reason to know this country. A first visit in Spain was undertaken in the year 1820 by the Romanian doctor of Macedonian origin, Marcu Filip, who was going to publish his travel impressions in Marseille, France, in the year 1824.
Only some time later in 1846-1847, Spain was to be visited by the Romanian erudite, Mihail Kogălniceanu. His contribution to the knowledge of Spain by the Notes sur l'Espagne he left behind is a special one: he helped disseminate the knowledge about the Spanish people's history, traditions and culture in the Romanian area. The description of Spain by the future revolutionary has a special charm, the details presented are very precise. He gives the contemporary reader significant explanations regarding the events that took place in this country throughout its history up to the 19 th century. The considerations regarding the ethnographic and folkloric aspects of Spain occupy, after the historical ones, a significant place in the Notes of Mihail Kogălniceanu, being present in various pages spread throughout his text.
Thus, he describes religious processions, popular dances, stories and historical legends since the time of the Arab dominion, ballads about the Spanish heroes of the liberation, the independent nature of the people of Biscay and their portrait, and of the people of Castile. The Romanian erudite carefully observes the important details of life in Spain and identifies the specific features of the Spaniard, also helped by the experience acquired during the studies in Vienna and Berlin and by the experience acquired in Paris.
Practically this position of traveller to other European States, his social position in Moldova, but also the capital gathered by what he had read previously make him have a special feeling for Spain, which was, for him, a revolutionary romantic, the country of his ideal dreams. Spain charms him by everything he sees, by everything he knows about it, by everything he discovers. Beside these true pictures specific of Spain, Mihail Kogălniceanu describes images similar to those of the Romanians, often making comparisons between Spain and Romania. The repetition I like her again and again represents a testimony of deep faith, a love and a special respect, a sort of doubling of the realities of Romania, a return to them, this is why Mihail Kogălniceanu was feeling a sincere love for Spain, loving her like his own country.
These notes on Spain of the Romanian erudite represent a special moment in the preoccupations of the Romanian culture and especially historiography regarding Spain. To sum up, Mihail Kogălniceanu's testimony can be considered even at present a precious source of knowledge about Spain.