Pierides Museum

The Pierides Museum is the nation's oldest private museum. The collection was initiated by the enlightened forefather of the Pierides family, Demetrios Pierides, in the 19th century, with the aim of protecting and preserving Cyprus' antiquities and preventing the loss of the island's history. His efforts were extremely important since during the 19th century and particularly under the Ottoman rule, the archaeological treasures of Cyprus were traded systematically by various dealers who acted under the cover of various professions with the sole aim of collecting antiquities and selling them abroad. The collections were systematically enriched by five generations of the family. The archaeological collection is housed in the old residence of the Pierides family, a colonial-style building, built in 1825. The visitor can travel through the ages covering 10000 years of the island's history, beginning from the Neolithic times through the Bronze Age, Geometric, Archaic, Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine - Medieval ages.