Sebastià Riera passes away

Sebastià Riera i Viader, lecturer in the UAB Department of Modern and Early Modern History, passed away on 22 July 2023.

The University wishes to extend its deepest condolences to all those who knew and loved him and expresses the sadness felt by the loss of such a valued member.

Francesc Vilanova i Vila-Abadal, friend and colleague from the Department of Modern and Early Modern History, dedicates these words in name of all of the members of the department: 

"Sebastià Riera i Viader, medievalist, director of the Arxiu Històric de la Ciutat de Barcelona (Casa de l'Ardiaca), lecturer for more than thirty years at the Department of Modern and Contemporary History of the UAB (who began working there when it was still a single Department of History), has died. A discreet, elegant, orderly, rigorous, documented historian. A work colleague in the Department who left an undeniable record of kindness, professional rigour, attention to students, dedication to teaching, collaboration and a job well done, very well done.

Trained in the long and solid Catalan medievalist school of the second half of the twentieth century, Sebastià Riera resembled the last disciple of Agustí Duran i Sanpere, both in terms of his teaching and his dedication to archiving, which made him an essential part in the smooth running and modernisation of the city's Historical Archive.

At the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, his classes were distinguished by the highest teaching classicism: orderly and rigorous expositions, full of quality and well presented contents, without stridency or strange modern inventions. He taught for decades and, when he retired, our department lost a magnificent lecturer, a kind companion and a serious, very serious historian.

Author of several outstanding works in the field of Catalan medievalism (on the Duchy of Montblanc, for example, or the edition of the Green Book of Barcelona), and also in the field of archiving, he collaborated with Jaume Sobrequés to offer the four series on the transition to democracy in Catalonia and the beginning of autonomy, a remarkable publication of great documentary value. He also excelled in the field of high level dissemination and synthesis writing.

A good colleague and a good friend, wherever you may be, we send you greetings and hugs from your colleagues in the Department of Modern and Early Modern History of the UAB."