Experts hunt for the table that was used to sign 'La Pepa'

By David Eade
ALTHOUGH the Bicentenary of the 1812 Constitution, known as 'La Pepa' and viewed as Spain's Magna Carta, is still four years away, officials in Cádiz are busy with preparations for the celebrations, including the hunt for the table on which the hallowed document was signed.
One contender is the Arranz y Villapadierna Foundation, in Benahavis, which owns a table bought ten years ago from a Carratraca palace once belonging to Fernando VII. The other table, that is much bigger, belongs to the Bishop of Cádiz and is housed in the diocese headquarters at the former Women's Hospital.
Tests will be carried out on both tables but, to make matters more complicated, nobody is certain where the Constitution was actually signed. It was first drawn up in San Fernando in 1810 but the court moved to Cádiz in 1811 once the city's yellow fever outbreak ended. Meetings were held at San Felipe Nero Oratory and the Constitution was adopted by a vote on March 11, 1812 and signed on March 18 and 19.
The debate on the table centres on whether the signing was a public or private ceremony. The bishop's table would have been suitable if there was a public ceremony but the Benahavís table is smaller and more appropriate for a private signing ceremony in the oratory. It is hoped that historians can establish which is the true Constitutional table so that it can be included in the 1812 celebrations.