site.btaUPDATED Facsimile Reproduction of Bulgaria's Oldest History Presented at President's Administration

A facsimile reproduction of a treatise titled De antiquitate Patrerni soli, et de rebus Bulgaricis [On the Antiquity of the Father's Land and on the Bulgarian Things], handwritten in Latin by Petar Bogdan Bakshev (1601-1674), Catholic Archbishop of Sofia, was presented in the Armorial Hall of the President's Administration on Tuesday.

"Petar Bogdan is an indisputable phenomenon of his time," Bulgarian President Rumen Radev said during the presentation. "Today we are particularly thrilled to come into contact with his lifework."

"It took us more than three years to translate into reality this initiative of the presidential institution so that a professional facsimile reproduction of Petar Bogdan's manuscript could be crafted and, moreover, to keep it in Bulgaria," the head of State explained. The presidential institution has been working for the presentation of the work to the Bulgarian public since 2021. His Holiness Pope Francis and the Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, stated their support during an audience with Radev. 

The 200-page manuscript, completed around 1667, is the earliest known history of Bulgaria. Signed by the author's name calqued in Latin, Petrus Deodatus, it covers the Christian past and present of the Bulgarian lands and was intended to enlist support in the then Catholic Europe for Bulgaria's liberation from Ottoman rule.

Only the introduction and the first four chapters of Petar Bogdan's history were long believed to have survived, in the holdings of the Vatican Library. Then, in late 2017, the full version was discovered by Bulgarian historian Prof. Dr Liliya Ilieva in the Campori manuscripts collection of Modena University's Biblioteca Estense.

The facsimile reproduction of the treatise, brought out by Il Bulino edizioni d'arte, has been donated by the Estensi Galleries to the National Archaeological Museum in Sofia.

Petar Bogdan's work has been translated into Bulgarian by Dr Tzvetan Vassilev, Associate Professor at the Sofia University Department of Classical Philology.

On the eve of May 24, the Day of the Holy Brothers Cyril and Methodius, of the Bulgarian Alphabet, Education and Culture and of Slavic Literature, the facsimile reproduction will be shown for the first time to the Bulgarian public. Bulgaria received the historical work on the initiative of President Radev and with the assistance of the Italian authorities, the management of the Estensi Galleries, and Modena Municipality.

Under the auspices of the President, the National Archaeological Museum will present the reproduction at 6 p.m. on May 21 at 6 pm. The book will be on display at the National Archaeological Museum from May 22 to September 22.

Attending Tuesday's presentation were Bulgarian Vice President Iliana Iotova; former Bulgarian President (2002-2012) Georgi Parvanov; Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, Vice-Dean of the College of Cardinals; Sofia Mayor Vassil Terziev; caretaker Culture Minister Nayden Todorov; Bulgarian Academy of Sciences President Julian Revalsky; BTA Director General Kiril Valchev; Bulgarian National Television Director General Emil Koshlukov; Bulgarian National Radio Director General Milen Mitev; the Director of the Estensi Galleries, Prof. Alessandra Necci; Prof. Dr Ilieva; and Assoc. Prof. Dr Vassilev.

After the presentation of the book, Radev presented Prof. Ilieva and Dr Vassilev with the Badge of Honour of the President. Prof. Necci also received the Badge, for the significant role of her Estensi Galleries in the conservation and restoration of Petar Bogdan's manuscript, and for contribution to bilateral relations between Bulgaria and Italy in the field of cultural and historical heritage.