Venetian Walls description and photos - Cyprus: Nicosia (Topic)

Venetian Walls description and photos - Cyprus: Nicosia. Detailed information about the attraction. Description, photographs and a map showing the nearest significant objects. The title in English is Venetian Walls.

Photo and description

The so-called Venetian Walls are a grandiose defensive structure in the city of Nicosia, which was created under the leadership of the Italian military engineers Francisco Barbaro and Giulio Savorgiano. The construction, or rather the modernization of the already existing fortifications, began in 1567 almost immediately after the seizure of this territory by the Venetians, and lasted for several years. During this time, the new owners of Nicosia demolished several old palaces and churches to obtain building materials and at the same time in this way improved the overview of the territories adjacent to the settlement. In addition, according to the design of the engineers, the Pedieos River remained outside the city wall. On the one hand, this was done to protect Nicosia from possible flooding, as well as in order to to fill the protective ditch around the wall with river water.

However, all the efforts of the builders were in vain - soon, namely in 1570, the city was easily captured by the Ottomans, led by Admiral Lala Mustafa Pasha. Moreover, the Venetians did not manage to complete the construction of their grandiose defensive structure around the city.

At the moment, the circumference of the fortification is about three miles, and along the perimeter there are 11 bastions in the form of regular pentagons. These towers were named after the famous Italian aristocratic families of Nicosia, who provided funds for the construction of the wall. Three main gates were also equipped, through which one could get into the city: Porta San Domenico (the gate of Paphos),

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Topic: Venetian Walls description and photos - Cyprus: Nicosia.