Hellenic Institute for Byzantine and Post-Byzantine Studies in Venice

The Hellenic Institute of Byzantine and Post-Byzantine Studies in Venice was established in 1951 as a Public Law Legal Entity. The Institute operates under the general supervision of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and, with regard to its educational and scholarly activities, under the supervision of the Ministry of Education (Law 4515/2017, Government Gazette A΄ 189/8.12.2017).

The Institute’s mission is to promote Byzantine and Post-Byzantine Studies.  To this end, the Institute, inter alia: (i) highlights the historical, philological and other related aspects of Greek civilization during the Byzantine and Post-Byzantine periods; (ii) manages its documentary, analogue and digital archival collections; and (iii) engages in international publishing activities.

The Venice Institute owns significant movable and immovable assets. These include the Church of Saint George of the Greeks, the Institute’s Museum and the Flanginian School. The Institute also owns approximately 300 icons, including three dating from the Palaeologan period, around 250 liturgical objects and ecclesiastical artefacts, the Archive of Hellenism in Venice (1498–1953), as well as a collection of manuscripts. Outstanding examples from this collection include the “Romance of Alexander the Great”, an illuminated Byzantine manuscript; the Collection of Byzantine Musical Manuscripts; and Patriarchal documents dating from the sixteenth century.