Panagia Faneromeni Church

Faneromeni Church in Nicosia’s old centre is also known as Panagia Faneromeni Church, and it is easy to find in the historical heart of the old town. This was the largest church in the capital of Cyprus — but that is not the only remarkable thing about it. It was built in 1872, on the old Orthodox convent that had stood there from 1715.

The church was dedicated to the Virgin Mary, after an icon of the Virgin was found in the ruins of the earlier temple. That icon is now kept in the sanctuary and has been dated to the 14th century.

The exterior shows Byzantine, Latin and neoclassical design. Inside, the frescoes date from 1929, and the church is filled with paintings from wall to wall and across the ceiling, spanning the 16th century up to the 20th. Many artists contributed over the decades to this collection of frescoes, paintings and wood carvings — among them M. Taliadoros for the carvings and Adamantios Diamantis as painter.

The courtyard

Outside there is a courtyard and an all-girls school named after the church, along with a library, a catechistic school, offices for the temple and the Mausoleum of the Cypriot martyrs. Cafés and shops nearby make this a good spot to sit with a coffee.

The marble mausoleum, in the courtyard east of the church, houses relics of the Cypriot bishops and priests executed under Ottoman rule in 1821.

The library

The library was built in 1933 with funds from the church itself, and once held some of the rarest collections of writings — reaching some twenty volumes at one point. After the decision of Archbishop Chrysostomos I, all of it was moved to the Library of Archbishop Makarios III in Nicosia.