Sharjah Ruler visits historic Italian Library of Ambrosio

His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, visited the Italian Biblioteca Ambrosio in Milan, which is considered one of the oldest libraries in the world as it was founded in 1609.

Upon arrival, His Highness was received by Sheikh Bodour bint Sultan Al Qasimi, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Sharjah Book Authority, Sheikh Majid Al Mualla, Senior Vice President of International Affairs at Emirates Airline, UAE Ambassador to the UAE of Italy Abdullah Ali Al Sabsi and Ahmed bin Rakad Al Ameri, CEO of Sharjah Book Authority, Dr. Abdulaziz Al Muslim, Chairman of the Sharjah Heritage Institute, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the UAE Writers and Writers Union, Dr. Sultan Al Amimi, Muhammad Hassan Khalaf, Director General of Sharjah Radio and Television Authority, Issa Abbas, Director General of Sharjah Antiquities Department, as well as several senior officials and editors of Emirati newspapers.

Upon arrival at the Library’s headquarters, His Royal Highness toured the Library’s departments, learned about the Library’s rich content in various fields: science, culture, history, art, etc., and was acquainted with the Library’s manuscripts and collections, which date back hundreds of years and where the most famous Italian thinkers and intellectuals studied and whose works the Library now houses.

The oldest manuscript of the Quran

His Highness viewed the most important collection of Islamic and Arabic manuscripts owned by the library, which is considered one of the most important collections related to many fields, including one of the oldest copies of the Holy Quran written in Kufic script and dating back to the second century AH, one of the ancient copies of the Book of Sibawai, whose content combines medicine and narrative, and the manuscript of a book on Arabic stories, whose treatises are collected and included in the book and support the affected treatises.

His Highness was also briefed on the results of Sharjah’s collaborative initiative with the Italian Biblioteca Ambrosio, an initiative previously directed by His Highness, which saw the digitization of more than 2,500 rare Arabic manuscripts dating back more than 450 years, and the presentation of the Sharjah Public Library’s e-library, under the Sharjah Book Authority, the first in the world to be digitized through this platform.

A valuable historical work

The “Ambrosian Library” was founded in 1609 in Milan, Italy by Cardinal Federico Borromeo, Bishop of Milan, as a library open to researchers, containing more than 15,000 manuscripts and 30,000 books.

The library’s collection includes valuable historical works, including the Codex Atlanticus, a collection of 12 manuscripts of Leonardo da Vinci’s drawings and memoirs, in addition to contributions from many patrons, artists, scholars, antiquarians, art experts and architects from around the world.

The library’s collection of Arabic manuscripts, considered one of the best in the world and one of the most important in Italy, includes manuscripts on various subjects such as history, languages, medicine and astronomy, in addition to manuscripts of Prophet’s Hadith and geographical atlases.

• The library’s collection of Arabic manuscripts is considered the best in the world and one of the most important in Italy.