If so, nothing new. They were looked upon as handy space fillers. But once I had the chance really to look at them I changed my mind. By God, they were not provincial, not primitive, not stylistically overly dependent on every other existing ancient civilization. Cypriot style throughout its long span from the 6th century BC down to Roman times is honest, independent, indelible, forthright, primitive, satisfyingly abstract, good and raw, complex and memorable.
Cypriot art is as legitimate as Egyptian art, or even Greek art.
It's not better or worse, it just expresses itself in a different language. As my admiration for the crisp, powerful works grew, I became fascinated with Cesnola as a cultural and archaeological phenomenon. Luigi was born near Turin in 1832 into a family that possessed feudal rights from the 11th century. His father served with Napoleon in Russia and an uncle helped write the Greek constitution. At 13, Luigi entered a military school and at 16 volunteered for the Army of Sardinia in the conflict against Austria.