Poets and Pahlevans:  A Journey into the Heart of Iran by Marcello Di Cintio, is an evocative exploration of the vibrant heart of Iran, and the paradoxes that reside in its history and contemporary life. 

Long fascinated by Iran’s history of poetry and wrestling, Marcello Di Cintio set out on a quest to find out how two such seemingly disconnected activities flourish together. His dual pilgrimage brings him throughout Iran, from the noise of Tehran, to the bridges of Esfahan, and to the villages that dot Iran's mountains and deserts. Along the way he visits the tombs of the great Persian poets and seeks out the men who still battle in the dust, or in halls adorned with art and preambled by the reciting of poetry.

Marcello Di Cintio portrays the rich history and contemporary life of Iran, a country most often considered inaccessible and forbidding. From smoky teahouses to sacred mosques, he finds a country divided, literally segregated, by the Islamic Revolution of 1979. His journey is a collection of unforgettable moments and images: a long ride with a philosophical cab driver, a reverie with a pair of drunken students; a night spent among the mourning inhabitants of a mountain village; an encounter with ancient bronze treasures destined for foreign museums; a last ramble in the ancient quarters of Bam, and a subsequent visit there after a tragic earthquake.

He finds himself relying on the kindness of strangers, and drawn into their stories. In seeking out the ideals of the pahlevan, he searches for the link between art and physical masculinity. Along the way, he even finds himself on a wrestling mat or two.