LA LETTERA E IL LEONE
VENETIAN EPIGRAPHS IN CYPRUS
Project Title: La Lettera e il Leone. Venetian epigraphs in Cyprus
Coordinator: Ca' Foscari University of Venice
Type of funding: Private
Funding source: Veneto Region
Dates: October 2022 - September 2023
Description: The project intends to analyze the Venetian epigraphic culture in Cyprus (1474-1571), with particular reference to the public sphere. The so-called 'exposed writings’ occupy a crucial role in the urban fabric of the two main cities of the island, Nicosia and Famagusta, where they are located along the imposing sixteenth-century walls, on the fortifications, on the remains of public buildings and other monuments functional to the exhibition of power. Their position, combined with new writing models, well represents the communication strategy implemented by the authorities of the Serenissima, thanks also to the use of symbols widely spread in the territories of the Stato da Mar. The central element of the project will be the analysis of the epigraphic material using a holistic approach, which takes into account the material, historical-political and socio-cultural aspects connected to writing and scripts.