This article presents a thematic outline of the cultural and literary relations between Italy and Iran from the 16th century to present. It focuses on the translation of key-works from Persian into Italian and vice-versa.
The emergence of Science Fiction in Arabic can be traced back to the second part of the 19 th century, but this genre has often been neglected by critics and academics. Nowadays we can recognize an increasing popularity of this literary production, with a large number of publications from Egypt, Lebanon, and even Yemen and Saudi Arabia. In last April the literary panorama of the Arab world has been upset by the releasing of a novel, surprisingly coming from Saudi Arabia.
Contemporary writers are used to exploring the “quest for eternal life” theme, al-khulud (immortality), by resorting to the elixir vitae as well as to hibernation and reincarnation, for instance, in order to express the neverending human struggle for overcoming the limits imposed by time. This quest permeates many novels which are pivotal for the emergence of science fiction in Arabic literature. In fact, it is now possible for scholars to underline the existence of a particular type of novel within the science fiction’s genre, i.e.
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