TIRANA, October 21/ATA/ The National Library of Albania in cooperation with the Italian Institute of Culture opened the exhibition “Venetian Collections in the venues of the National Library of Albania”. This exhibition is one of the largest and most important organized by the National Bank of Greece. Around 600 original books and maps printed in Venice between the years 1400-1800 are part of this exhibition and most of them are being shown to the public for the first time.
The exhibition is divided into several sections. The first section is devoted to the history of Venice, as one of the most important centers of the European Renaissance, which in the period between the 1400s and the end of the 1700s, was the center of printing in Europe.
The second section is dedicated to Albania and Greece, places where Venice had a great influence for several centuries. This section presents some of the first testimonies of written Albanian, such as those of Buzuku and Bogdani. Venice was also the place where a large number of works dedicated to Skanderbeg or the history of Albania were published, starting with those of Barleti, Marin Beçikemi, Dhimitër Frangu, etc. The section also contains a number of original maps of Albania and Albanian cities.
A special section is devoted to books dealing with Venice’s relations with the Orient, where the wars against the Ottoman Empire occupy a prominent place, works which can serve as an extraordinary source of information about the history of Albanians.
The Venetians are primarily known as travelers and geographers, so a special section is dedicated to this topic. The last two sections are devoted to publications related to science, literature and religion. – The exhibition closes with a space dedicated to the newest publications dedicated to the historical relations of Albanians with Venice.
The exhibition comes under the care of scientific curator Elisabetta Sciarra, director of the National Central Library of Florence, one of the most prestigious and oldest libraries in Europe. /j.p/p.s./
