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An exhibition entitled "Three Armenian Manuscripts from Tuscany (13–14th Centuries)" will open at Yerevan’s Matenadaran (officially the Mesrop Mashtots Institute of Ancient Manuscripts) on June 9.

The Medici’s Laurentian Library of Italy’s city of arts, Florence houses 14 Armenian manuscripts. These manuscripts are evidence of the presence of Armenians and the importance of Armenian culture in Italy, especially in Tuscany, where Armenians had settled already in the Middle Ages, the Matenadaran said in a Facebook post.

On the initiative of the Italian Ambassador to Armenia Vincenzo Del Monaco and under the high auspices of the presidents of Italy and Armenia, the Matenadaran has been offered an exclusive opportunity of presenting three manuscripts from this remarkable collection to the visitors.

The exhibition gives a good chance to appreciate once again the Italian-Armenian cultural ties and centuries-old friendly relations.

The following manuscripts will be presented at the exhibition: MS 790 (St. Mark's Collection), Psalter and Mass Book, 1369, Budapest, scribe – Tovma, painter – Francesco di Caffa, commissioner – Sargis; MS 1.13 (Pluteus Collection), Missal, 1353, Pisa, scribe – Archbishop Grigor and MS 1089 (Ashburnham Collection), Consecration of a Priest, 1232, Cilicia, scribe – Gevorg, commissioner – Archbishop Hovhannes.

Over the years, manuscripts from the Matenadaran’s collection have been taken to various parts of the world to present our manuscript heritage. This exhibition is unique, since for the first time the Matenadaran hosts Armenian manuscripts kept in a friendly country. They will be displayed in Matenadaran for seven months.