Antonio Hernández-Gil Álvarez-Cienfuegos, who was a trustee of the Fundación CasaDucal de Medinaceli for almost two decades, passed away on Wednesday 15 January in Madrid. Member of the Royal Academy of Jurisprudence and Legislation, professor of civil law, managing partner of the Hernández-Gil law firm, advisor to large companies, are some of his many occupations which included a singular mastery of the classical guitar, despite which he always knew how to find the time, He was always able to find the time - probably because he considered it infinite, since it could always be broken down into smaller pieces, as his youngest daughter explained in the beautiful portrait she gave of her father at his funeral - to advise the Foundation, whose aims he immediately identified with thanks to his sensitivity and vast culture. He had a solid legal, humanist and moral background, a flexible conception of law as an instrument for resolving conflicts and a natural empathy, traits whose unusual combination in the same person allowed him to make a clear-sighted reading of reality which, far from leading him to scepticism, guided him towards pragmatic solutions conceived as steps towards an ideal objective. This way of approaching each problem has singularly helped to consolidate the historical heritage of this Foundation, which is why it will be impossible both to fill the gap he leaves behind and to erase his memory.
