Il soggiorno napoletano di Hâjj Sayyâh, solitario viaggiatore persiano del XIX secolo

In this article we analyze the section of the Safarnâme-ye Hajj Sayyah be Farang relating to the stay of Iranian traveler Hajj Sayyah in the city of Naples in nineteenth century. An Italian translation of the most significant passages is also given. Hajj Sayyah is perhaps the only nineteenth-century Persian traveler to have outlined Naples in detail and to have provided, in addition to the usual descriptions of landscapes and architectural structures, a vivid picture of life and habits of the lower strata of the population of the city. The Safarnâme-ye Hajj Sayyâh be Farang represents a precious treasure of information and vivid performances and a travel account that stands out in Persian travel literature of the nineteenth century. It is a work that fits into the intersection of travel chronicle, autobiographical narrative and narrative fiction. The constant oscillation between the literary and the documentary makes this work unique in the frame of 19th century Persian prose literature