Church of Virgin Mary of Chrysopolitissa

Located on a hill at the corner of Archiepiskopou Kyprianou and Chrysopolitissas streets, the Virgin Mary of Chrysopolitissa is a stone-built church that sits on the site of a prehistoric cemetery of the ancient town (12th-13th centuries BC). The church is dedicated to Virgin Mary of the ‘golden town’, given its name thanks to the rich tombs of the cemetery that were filled with gold jewellery. The quarter was also known as Chryssopolis (‘golden town’) during Medieval times.

The church’s foundation dates back to Byzantine times, when a source of the Kition Bishopric mentions its existence in the 12th and 13th centuries. Writings from the archives of the Greek College of Rome confirm that the church had its name in 1638. The church was destroyed in 1765 and was rebuilt in its present form in 1768. In 1851 it was renovated again, and also acquired the existing wood-engraved, gold-surfaced iconostasis. Many of the icons and ecclesiastical furnishings are of the 16th and 17th centuries, whilst its elegant, restored bell tower is of the 19th century.

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