La cornice dei manoscritti: Vittorio Cini, la Fondazione Giorgio Cini e l’Iran

Located in a volume that presents in a complete way a precious manuscript (17th century) of the Khamse of the Persian poet Nezami of Ganje, preserved at the Fondazione Cini in Venice, this article reconstructs for the first time the way this manuscript (and the other Persian manuscript from the Fondazione Cini, a 19th century Yusof o Zolekha by Jami) arrived in Venice. To this aim, the article investigates: the significant history of the interests of the Fondazione Cini regarding the Mediterranean context and the relations with Middle Eastern countries; the arrival of the two manuscripts as a happy consequence of this history; their placement within the frame of the presence of important Persian artifacts of the art of the book in Italy.