Centuries ago Cypriot families piled off boats that had crossed the Mediterranean to seek refuge in Venice shortly after the island was taken over by the Ottomans. Some of these refugees went on to become reputable doctors, lawyers, merchants and authors. Others influenced Italian fashion as Venetian dressmakers drew inspiration from traditional Cypriot clothing. Without really knowing it, Cypriots were instilling a little bit of their culture and knowledge into the life of Italy.
Who'd have thought it...Cypriot culture influencing Venetian/Italian culture...The bit about the clothes is pretty cool..we influenced the world renowned Italian/Venetian clothing...
But I think our influence on Venice was probably insignificant. What would villager Cypriots know about fashion at that time? Everything they knew would originate from the Venetians anyways!
