The Sylvia Ioannou Foundation Collection includes 2,500 rare books and manuscripts of the 15th-20th century: original travel and historical documents, accounts of journeys, essays, isolaria, and cosmographies focusing on Cyprus and the Eastern Mediterranean.
The turbulent history of Cyprus, its strategic geographical location, its literature, mythology, and the legends associated with the island over time are reflected in the printed material and manuscripts that make up the Sylvia Ioannou Foundation Collection.
Detailed information on selected books and manuscripts of the Collection, together with the history of the ownership of the various documents and their publishing history, is contained in the three-volume catalogue of Cyprus and the Levant: Rare Books from the Sylvia Ioannou Foundation.
Selected travel literature publications (15th-18th century) from the Sylvia Ioannou Foundation Collection were the subject of the Zefyros research project.
You can see the Collection's books in the Digital Library.