IDRISI, Muhammad, al-.

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L'Italia descritta nel "Libro del Re Ruggero" compilato da Edrisi: Testo arabo pubblicato con versione e note. First edition of the first Italian translation of al-Idrisi's Kitab Nuzhat al-mushtaq, specifically the sections concerning continental Italy. It includes a colour reproduction of al-Idrisi's accompanying map.This edition was produced by Celestino Schiapparelli (d. 1919) and Michele Amari, both professors of Arabic at several Italian universities. Schiapparelli made the first translation of the sections on continental Italy and al-Idrisi's introduction on the geography of the Earth, while incorporating Amari's Italian translation of the chapters on Sicily and al-Idrisi's methodological introduction. This work provides the Arabic text of the section on Italy, with a final list of Arabic place names. The Italian translation is accompanied by detailed footnotes seeking to connect al-Idrisi's medieval geography to 19th-century place names. The map, taken from a manuscript copy at the Bodleian Library, reproduces the Italian peninsula and surrounding islands, with a delineation of Dalmatia. Kitab Nuzhat al-mushtaq was written by the great Arab astronomer and sharif Muhammad al-Idrisi (d. 1165) in 1153-54, by request of the Norman Roger II of Sicily. The king intended al-Idrisi's work to accompany a large map of the world, famously engraved on silver, which had resulted from nearly two decades of research by major geographers and travellers.

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