When was the last time you sent a love letter, handwritten on paper and dropped in a mailbox? That is exactly the premise of a new project by Larnaka 2030 as it celebrates the month of love. Throughout February, 30 mailboxes will be active around town as the organisation hosts its Larnaka’s Love Letters initiative.

Citizens of all ages are encouraged to write and send love letters, and drop them into the yellow mailboxes. The first to do so was Larnaca Mayor Andreas Vyras, who launched the project on February 1 at the Duty-Free Shop of Larnaka Airport.

The mailboxes can be found all over Larnaca in local businesses, meeting points, and educational units. The project is a collaborative effort with the mailboxes provided by the Cyprus Post and the idea of the initiative belonging to the journalist and chief editor of SkalaTimes Yiota Demetriou, who oversees the project.

The project aims to encourage more people to put pen to paper and express their love to anyone they wish – themselves, a partner, a parent, a teacher, someone who has passed away and so on. The letters can be anonymous and might be used at a later date for a curated project.

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Throughout the project, a lecture will be held by Demetriou, titled Digital Declarations and the Future of Love Letters. Demetriou, originally from Larnaca and currently living and working in England, is a multidisciplinary artist, academic, author, and specialisd designer. The date of her lecture will be announced shortly.

Love letters, which have disappeared from people’s daily lives, are an important part of world literature, organisers say. Nobel laureate poet Pablo Neruda, one of the most important literary figures in Latin America, wrote several love letters. Most of them are addressed to Matilde Urrutia and are included in the collection One Hundred Love Sonnets. Beloved Ernest Hemingway wrote words of love and passion to Marlene Dietrich in 1951. The love letters of author Gustave Flaubert to poet Louise Collet were particularly daring.”

The mailboxes can be found at the following locations: Duty-Free Larnaka Airport (Cyprus Duty-Free Larnaca Airport), Primary School Kathari, Primary School Prodromos, Gymnasium Petraki Kyprianou, Lyceum Livadia, Technical School of Larnaka, American Academy Larnaka, English Tuition Center Royals Maria Toumazou, Math Tuition Center G. Paparidis, Odio Gerolemos, Municipality of Larnaca, Municipality of Livadia, Municipality of Lefkara, Community Council Oroklini, Cafe To Kantouni (Troulli), Community Council Kiti, Community Council Pyla, Pierides Museum, Radisson Blu hotel, Indigo hotel, Aldente Finikoudes, Coffee Corner Finikoudes, Aldente Metropolis Mall, Bricolage, Foodhaus, Bookstore Bibliokosmos, Vivid, Larnaca Marina, Stavris Kitchen, Care Act.

Larnaka’s Love Letters

Love letters projects by Larnaka 2030, led by Yiota Demetriou. Throughout February. 30 locations in Larnaca. https://maps.app.goo.gl/y22L6gWRq6TCQ4CQ9. More information at [email protected]