Larnaca - Pierides Museum

With a population of over 50,000, Larnaca is one of the largest cities in Cyprus.

The Pierides Museum is the oldest private museum in Cyprus. The Pierides family, which worked as consuls for various countries, created this collection over five generations with the aim of protecting and preserving Cyprus' antiquities and preventing the loss of the island's history. Since 2000, the museum has been mainly supported by the Cyprus Popular Bank.

In 1191, King Richard the Lionheart of England, who had co-led the Third Crusade, conquered the island. In the same year, he sold the island to the Knights Templar, who returned it to him in 1192 following a Cypriot uprising that had been quelled with great difficulty. Richard then sold the island to Guy of Lusignan, the deposed titular King of Jerusalem. His brother and heir, Amalric, recognised the Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI as his suzerain in 1196, thereby legitimising his position against the Byzantine Emperor’s formal claim, and had himself crowned King of Cyprus by one of Henry’s representatives. The Kingdom lasted until 1489. This "Frankish Period" connected Cyprus to European civilisation without dislodging it from its Hellenistic, Byzantine and Eastern origins.

Clay bowl
Falconer
13th c. AD