The Municipality of Paralimni - Deryneia, after many months of coordinated efforts, managed to reach an agreement with the Neues Museum Berlin for the acquisition of a three-dimensional digital copy of the bust of Aphrodite, which had been discovered in ancient Lefkolla, in present-day Protaras.
In a teleconference held between the Management and a group of specialized scientists of the New Museum in Berlin and the Mayor of Paralimni-Dheryneia, an agreement was reached on a free digital impression that will allow the production of a completely faithful copy of the ancient bust.
This development constitutes an extremely important cultural success, one of the few at the international level in the field of digital cultural cooperation.
The Municipality extends special thanks to the Deputy Minister of Culture, Dr. Vasiliki Kassianidou, to the Director of the Museum, Dr. Martin Maischberger, and his scientific team, as well as to the Professor of the University of Berlin, Dr. Stephan Schmid, who substantially supported the Municipality's request.
The ancient bust of a deity from Lefkolla was discovered during the Ottoman period in Cyprus by Luigi Palma di Cesnola, who served as the American consul on the island. The find was sold by him to the Berlin Museum about a century and a half ago. The head belonged to a colossal statue of Aphrodite – the city’s patron goddess, made of local limestone, which was worshipped in a sanctuary in ancient Lefkolla.
It is a masterpiece of ancient Greek art of the classical period (4th century BC), which highlights the high artistic level that had developed in the area of our current Municipality, as well as its close relationship with the wider Greek world.
For decades, the fate of the work was not widely known. Following actions by the Cultural Service of the Municipality of Paralimni - Deryneia, the sculpture was located in the Neues Museum Berlin and systematic efforts were initiated to secure a digital copy of it.
