Ricerc@Sapienza

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. By presenting the way Persian works like the various Bahrāmnāmes, Ferdowsī’s Shāhnāme, Saʻdī’s Golestān, and Hāfeẓ’s Dīvān were introduced in the Italian cultural milieu, and Italian works like Tomaso Tomai’s Idea dei giardini del mondo, Boccaccio’s Decameron, Dante’s Commedia and Collodi’s Pinocchio were translated and welcomed within the Persian cultural domain, this contribution suggests that – despite the quantitatively minor amount of exchanges with respect to the French-Persian and English-Persian contacts – Italian literary relations with Iran were marked by a privileged affinity and produced some outstanding results.