Sylvia Ioannou Foundation

Sylvia Ioannou Charitable Foundation

The Foundation’s mission is to preserve and disseminate the historical and cultural heritage of Cyprus through research programmes based on items in its collection, publications, conferences and scholarships related to the island of Cyprus.

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Our Digital Library provides free access to rare materials about Cyprus, expanding the reach of academic research

Explore rare books and maps related to Cyprus and the Eastern Mediterranean from the 15th to the 19th century in high-resolution images.

12th Scholarship Programme for the Academic Year 2024-2025

The aim of the Scholarship Programme is to support young scientists and students from Cyprus and Greece who wish to undertake postgraduate studies (Masters or PhD) in any field of study, with Cyprus as the objective of their dissertation.

Rediscovering Cyprus: Digital Dialogues between History and Geography

This successful event was held on 20 October 2023 at the University of Cyprus (Nicosia). Conducted in collaboration with the Department of Geography at Harokopio University, it showcased research programmes, digital applications and educational books focussed on Cyprus.

Academy of Athens Award

Η έκδοση «Ἡ Ἱστορία ἔχει πρόσωπο» / "History Has a Face" τιμήθηκε με Βραβείο Ακαδημίας Αθηνών.

Research programmes showcase the wealth of information about Cyprus

Discover the results of the research programmes developed by the Foundation in collaboration with academic and cultural institutions through web applications.

The INSPIRAL portal for travel literature

INSPIRAL is an online portal for travel literature and historical geography that hosts rare books from private and public collections from the 15th to the 18th century.

Publications on bibliology, cartography, history and manuscripts

With the assistance of dedicated scientists and researchers, the Foundation creates scholarly works and reference books. These publications focus mainly on Cyprus, Greece and the Middle East, utilising primarily documents from the Foundation’s Collection.