Description
This edition presents manuscript Venetian letters from the Collection of Manuscripts and Old Editions of the Foundation as well as letters from other Cypriot collectors. In total, twenty important letters are presented, dating from 1354 to 1512. More specifically, fourteen of the letters come from the Foundation Collections, three from the private collection of Paul and Nina Pastides, two from another private collection and one from the collection of the Leventis Municipal Museum in Nicosia. The letters were written by Venetian merchants and contain information on commercial activities and trading networks of the eastern Mediterranean, especially Cyprus. Throughout the course of the 15th century, the Venetians controlled the movement of goods between the Eastern Mediterranean and Western Europe and enjoyed a monopoly over the movement of goods produced in Venetian colonies.