Hellenic Institute of Byzantine and Post-Byzantine Studies in Venice, Research institute and art museum near San Marco, Venice, Italy.
The Hellenic Institute of Byzantine and Post-Byzantine Studies is a research center and art museum near San Marco that occupies several buildings including the Church of San Giorgio dei Greci and the Flanginian School. It focuses on studying and preserving Byzantine history, art, and Greek Orthodox culture through its collections and research programs.
The Greek state founded this institute in 1951 through an educational agreement with Italy and formally opened it in 1958. It inherited properties from Venice's Greek Orthodox community that had lived in the city since medieval times.
The institute holds a collection of around 300 Byzantine icons and numerous manuscripts that reflect the religious and artistic traditions of the Greek Orthodox community. These works show how Eastern and Western artistic traditions came together through centuries of trade and cultural exchange in Venice.
Researchers and scholars can access specialized resources about Byzantine history, theology, and art history in the library and archives. The institute regularly holds academic conferences and publishes research that visitors can learn about and explore.
The institute is the only Greek research center operating outside Greece and preserves a version of the Romance of Alexander the Great in its manuscript collection. This rare work reflects Venice's importance as a meeting point for cultural exchange between East and West.
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