The critical edition of the complete autos sacramentales by Calderón de la Barca, produced by the University of Navarra at partnership with the Spanish-German publishing house Reichenberg, has reached issue 100 of its collection, almost 30 years after its launch. The project, driven by Ignacio Arellano, director of the group from research Siglo de Oro (GRISO) of the School of Philosophy y Letras, began in 1992, in the framework of the lines of research promoted by the academic center, with the goal of making available to scholars and the general public an essential part of Spanish and universal literature and culture.

With the publication of the critical edition of "El gran teatro del mundo" ends this project in which about 80 plays of the playwright have been edited; a set of works in which theater, religious doctrine, music, poetry, history, mythology, plastic arts or political commitment, among other disciplines, go hand in hand. "Seeing it completed is a mixture of satisfaction and relief. I think we have learned a lot, but at times it seemed difficult to finish. Looking back, one can now perceive the magnitude of work and I think all of us who have participated in project can be happy," says Arellano, author of the last critical edition published. In it, the testimonies of what is one of Calderón's best-known autos are examined and numerous explanatory notes are provided, as well as a complete study of its most relevant aspects. The preliminary study is the work of Enrique Rull and Ana Suárez.

During these three decades, the project has counted with the partnership of the most prestigious calderonistas in the world. As Arellano explains, "we have learned a lot about Calderón, the autos sacramentales, the theater and mentality of the Golden Age, as well as the work of what is surely the most important playwright in Western history". Likewise, he assures that "without the plan of research of the University of Navarra, the support of the rectors and vice-rectors of research during this time, and without a decision publishing house like Reichenberg's, we would not have been able to complete the task". 

The texts, without notes or programs of study, can be consulted in the Digital Academic Repository of the University of Navarra (DADUN). On the other hand, it is planned to publish soon a reduced version, from two to three volumes, with a lighter section of notes. Among other projects, the GRISO is also editing the complete comedies of the playwright, "another abundant corpus, but in general easier to edit than the autos", in partnership with the Spanish-German publishing house "Iberoamericana Vervuert".