The Churches of Famagusta

Part two - The Churches of Famagusta (detail of a Venetian Winged Lion in the fortifications of Famagusta) If you came to this page directly, you might wish to read a page with an introduction to this section first.

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The Churches of Famagusta

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All images © by Roberto Piperno, owner of the domain. Write to romapip@quipo.it. Text edited by Rosamie Moore. Page revised in August 2011.

St. Nicholas' the Cathedral of

Famagusta: (right) façade with the

minaret added by Lala Mustafa Pacha;

(right) apse In the XIVth century Famagusta became a very important trading port in the Levant. French, Italians, Greeks, Syrians, Armenians lived together in a cosmopolitan environment, not uncommon in this part of the world. The different nationalities expressed their rivalry in building churches for their communities. The Kings of Cyprus maintained links with France and most of the churches followed the pattern of the French Gothic Cathedrals. The Cathedral of Famagusta

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The Churches of Famagusta

was dedicated to St Nicholas; it was completed in 1328 and the Kings of Cyprus, who resided at Nicosia came here to be crowned a second time as Kings of Jerusalem. After the Ottoman conquest of Famagusta in 1571, the cathedral was converted into a mosque dedicated to Lala Mustafa Pacha, the Ottoman commander who seized Famagusta after a long siege. While we are accustomed to seeing Byzantine churches converted into mosques, the view of a minaret next to a Gothic façade is definitely unusual. The image used as background for this page shows a window on the side of the church.

St George's of the Greeks After the conquest of Famagusta, the Ottomans closed all Catholic churches, but not necessarily those of other Christian faiths in an attempt to gain the support of the Greek and Armenian population of the island (Cyprus had strict links with the Kingdom of Lesser Armenia which was located opposite the northern coast of the island). However, these communities were not allowed to retain large and prominent churches, so all the major churches of Famagusta were either converted into mosques or abandoned. St George's was the

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The Churches of Famagusta

Greek Orthodox cathedral and it was built in a mixture of Byzantine (the three apses) and Gothic (the windows) styles.

St George's of the Greeks: frescoes:

(left) The Descent from the Cross; (right)

St. Peter meeting Jesus ( Domine Quo Vadis ) ???

The central apse retains evidence of frescoes; they make the site very evocative, but without protection they are bound to disappear completely. The photos which illustrate this section were taken in 2002; the Smithsonian Magazine reported in March 2009: " In April 2008, under the guidance of

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The Churches of Famagusta

Europa Nostra, a pan-European federation for cultural heritage, the Greek and Turkish mayors of the city met in Paris. They agreed to put aside their political differences and support efforts to preserve Famagusta. Europa Nostra hopes that their shared interest in conservation will create an opening for international agencies to donate money, without giving rise to legal or political disputes."

Church of Sts. Peter and Paul: (left)

apse; (right) façade

The third large church of Famagusta was dedicated to St Peter and St Paul and it was built in ca 1360, although parts of it were added at a later stage. The façade is rather plain when compared to the rest of the building. In 1572 it was converted into a mosque and today it is a public library.

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The Churches of Famagusta

St. George's of the Latins; (inset)

relief showing two fighting lions

Thus saith the Lord -

In whom shall Cyprus trust, With all her crimes, her luxury and pride?

In her lascivious loves will she confide,

her harlot Daughters, and her Queen of Lust?

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The Churches of Famagusta

The initial verses of this sonnet written by Benedetto dall'Uva (translation found in The Poetical Register and Repository of Fugitive Poetry for 1804 ) on the eve of the fall of Famagusta shed some light on the profligacy of the city's inhabitants. Some travellers thought that the reason for the presence of so many churches in Famagusta was due to the desire of the inhabitants to make up for their lascivious behaviour. St. George's of the Latins was most likely the church of the rich Genoese community.

(left) Twin churches of the Templars and of

the Hospitallers; (right) St. Anne of

the Carmelites In Famagusta the two best known and powerful military orders associated with the Crusades

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had their chapels side by side; they were deeply involved in the defence of the Latin States of the Levant and they held a large number of castles there. The Templars, after having lost Arwad their last stronghold in Syria in 1302, were charged with a long series of crimes by Pope Clement V; the order was eventually dissolved and its assets were seized by the European monarchs. The Hospitallers had better luck; after losing Acre in 1291 they escaped to Cyprus and eventually in 1309 they took Rhodes from the Byzantines and they became known as the Knights of Rhodes.

(left) Nestorian church

(Nestorianism: doctrine stating that

there were two separate persons in

Christ, one human and one divine);

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The Churches of Famagusta

a former church The Venetian Palace

(left) Façade of Palazzo del Provveditore;

(right) coat of arms of Giovanni Renier,

governor of the island in 1552

The Venetians moved the capital of Cyprus from Nicosia to Famagusta and built a Renaissance palace opposite the Cathedral. It was decorated with columns coming from the ancient town of Salamis, a few miles north of Famagusta.

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Back walls of the Venetian Palace

See the other pages of this section: Famagusta - The Walls Nicosia Cirenes

SEE THESE OTHER EXHIBITIONS (for a full list see my detailed list).

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The Churches of Famagusta

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