The BA Organizes “Reviving Echoes” Seminar on Early Print Restoration in Collaboration with the Republic of Croatia
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The Bibliotheca Alexandrina, in collaboration with the Embassy of Croatia in Cairo, organized a seminar titled “Reviving Echoes: Early Print Restoration,” as part of a donation presented to the Library by the Office of the President of Croatia: a facsimile of the book Misal Po Zakonu Rimskog Dvora, printed in 1483.
The event included the opening of an exhibition by Croatian artist Julije Klović, titled “The Croatian Renaissance Dream in Egypt,” attended by a high-level official delegation and a group of conservation-restoration experts and specialists.
In his opening remarks, Dr. Ahmed Zayed, Director of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, said that heritage represents the memory of peoples, which must be restored and preserved to serve as a means of communication for future generations, describing restoration as the process that gives manuscripts and rare books the opportunity to continue to exist.
He also highlighted the role played by the Library’s Manuscripts Center in documenting and studying Arab and Islamic heritage, exploring the achievements of the Conservation Laboratory, which was awarded Best Conservation Laboratory in Egypt in 2015 by the National Committee of the International Council of Museums.
In a related context, the exhibition accompanying the seminar highlights the works of artist Julije Klović (1498–1578), known as the “Michelangelo of Miniatures,” who was the first Croatian artist to incorporate ancient Egyptian architectural elements and monuments—such as pyramids and obelisks—into his artwork during the European Renaissance.
At the conclusion of the event, a technical seminar was held, moderated by Dr. Hussein Soliman, Head of the Department of Studies and Academic Activities at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina.
It is worth noting that the Roman Missal, known as the Missale Romanum Glagolitice (1483), is considered the first book printed in Croatian Church language using the Glagolitic script. It holds a central place in the history of Croatian culture and knowledge, and represents an important milestone in the broader context of European culture and the history of the Roman Catholic Church.