Nicosia A review through time Prologue The importance of being aware Nicosia is the city I grew up, the capital of Cyprus, the core of the division of the island and the location of my graduation project. The graduation project aims to intervene in the city of Nicosia and to propose - through the quali- ties architecture can provide - a solution to the major current problem of the division of the island. The purpose of this research is to analyse the location of the intervention - the city of Nicosia - and to create awareness about the developments and the current situation of the city today. The content of the research presents how the city of Nicosia changed through the centuries until today, focussing on the urban developments as well as the socio political developments that influ- ence and have influenced the transformations of the city until today. Therefore the research is divided in two parts, the first part is providing a basic geographical information about the location of Nicosia and the important characteristics for the inhabitation of the area. The second and most important part of the research is presenting in chronological order the transformations of the city, from ancient to recent times, focussing on the urban developments and the socio political changes that relate to these developments. Newborn swallows in their nests and a building’s roof. Nicosia A review through time Content The geography of Nicosia Chronological analysis of the urban and the socio political developments of Nicosia Alexis Ierides Faculty of Architecture Explore lab graduation studio TU Delft Nicosia A review through time The geography of Nicosia Plan of the island Cartography of the island The district and the city of Nicosia now Occupied Cyprus /(Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus) Kyrenia Famagusta Border line (UN territory) Nicosia British military base Paphos Limassol Larnaca British military base Map of Cyprus with the districts. In color is the district of Nicosia. The district and the city of Nicosia [now] The important geographical characteristics of Nicosia West East The cartography of Cyprus with highlated the part of Pediaios river that runs through Nicosia. The Pedieos river starts from the mountain range of Troodos, pass through Nicosia and ends to the east coast, to the gulf of Famagusta. The riverbed of Pedieos becomes the core of the inhabitation of Nicosia since the first settlements. The river is named after the combination of the ancient Greek words “ιδείν” (idin) and “Εος” (eos) which mean looking at the dawn. The important geographical characteristics of Nicosia A view from mesaoria towards the mountain range of Pentadaktylos. Another important characteristic of the geography of Nicosiai s the flatness of the area (mesao- ria), that is encircled in the far ends by the two main mountain ranges of Cyprus (Pentadaktylos and Troodos). Mesaoria is a fertile ground that offers security and overview to the neighbouring areas and mountains Nicosia A review through time Chronological analysis of the urban and the socio political developments of Nicosia This chronological analysis focus on the city of Nicosia and more specifically how the “walled city” developed through time. The experience of the walled city today exists of traces from the past. In order to understand the urban and social development of the city today it is necessary to have knowledge of the socio political developments of the city from the past, that “formed” the current situation of the city today. This chapter provides a chronological analysis of the city from the ancient times until now, focussing on the socio political developments and their relation with how the city is being developed. Coat of arms of the rulers of Cyprus until its indipendance: Byzantine Empire, Lusignan Kingdom, Venetian Rule, Ottoman Empire, British Rule, Republic of Cyprus. 1050 B.C. - 330 A.C City kingdoms Based on Hellenistic scripts the area that is now called Nicosia was in the ancient times the terrain of the city kingdom of Ledra, one of the twelve city kingdoms of Cyprus. Due to its inland location Ledra was not as important as the coastal city kingdoms in the ancient history and this is one of the reasons that historians know so little about the developments of Ledra. What is assumed is that the first growth of the city kingdom of Ledra was on the southern part of Pediaios river. The capital of the island was Paphos until the 4th century A.C.. During the 4th century the capital changed from Paphos to Salamina that became the centre of the Apostolic Church during the first years of the Byzantine Empire. Lapithos Hitroi Soloi Ledra Salamina Marion Tamasos Idalion Kition Paphos Amathus Kourion Map with the ancient city kingdoms of Cyprus 395 B.C. - 1191 A.C Byzantine Empire During the Byzantine Empire the island is being raid by the Arabs. The coastal settlements become war zones and the safer inner area of Cyprus gets new attention. Around the 7th century the area of Ledra changes name to Lefkosia. The origin of this name probably comes from the word Lefko- theon - in Greek this is the combination of lefko (white) and theos (God) - or from the word Lefkon - in Greek this word is used for the lefka (populus) tree - which are both words that were used to describe the kingdom of Ledra. Around the 10th century Lefkosia becomes the capital of the island - until today - and the centre of the government and archbishopric. It is not clear where the Byzantine buildings and developments have been settled exactly but it is known that Lefkosia becomes a city of monasteries and churches, among others the church of Ayia Sophia which became later the important cathedral of the city. Stamp of the archbischop Efstorgiou (1217) with the drawing of a church, probably Ayia Sophia 1192-1489 The Frankish Rule During the 12th and 15th century Nicosia becomes the capital of the medieval Kingdom of Cyprus, the seat of Lusignan kings, the Latin Church and the Frankish administration of the island. The first Frankish king Guy de Lusignan arrives in Nicosia in 1192 to find a city without any diffen- sive structure nor any significant fortification. It was during this period that the city develops to a new fortification of the Lusignan Kingdom through which the river was diverted in order to flow through the town and provide the necessary water supply. Map of Cyprus from 1562 by Bertelli Ferrando 13th century Illustration of the probable position of the fortification of the city from the Lusignan kings. The illustration is made based on the later fortification of the city from the Venetians (dotted line). Historians and arhcaiologists are not sure about the exact location and shape of the fortifications of the Lusignan Kingdom that was finished in 13th century. The plan of a probable position and size of the fortification is made in comparison to the later Venetian walled city. According to testi- monials of that period the city is characterised by the wealthy gardens and springs and palaces. The Frankish king settled in the area of the former center of the Byzantine Empire at the western part of the city that is now enriched with gothic architecture. 13th century Third Lusignan Palace Western district Cathedral of Agia Sophia Main course of the river Eastern district Second Lusignan Palace First Lusignan Palace Divertion of the river through the city Gardens and springs From the descriptions of the city it is clear that it has been divided in two districts: the western district characterised by the inhabitation of the upper class of the Frankish rule and the eastern district that is inhabited by the natives. The church of Agia Sophia is during this period trans- formed into the cathedral of the city. 1489-1570 The Republic of Venice At the end of the 15th century the Republic of Venice took over Cyprus. During this period Nicosia develops into “citta ideale”, the “ideal city” with an efficient defensive structure. This ideal was the catalyst of the new development of the city, the “optimisation” of the city’s plan and fortifica- tion. The defensive necessities against the Ottoman raids were the reason for the demolition of many existing buildings and heritage from previous settlements, including buildings and fortifica- tions of the Byzantine Empire and the Frankish rule. The construction of the new fortifications were finished in 1567, three years before the raid from the Ottoman empire. Map of Cyprus from 1629 by Raigniauld. H Ayia Sofia church as centre of the fortification Drawing of the architect of the new Venetian fortification of Nicosia, Giulio Savorgnan, 1573 The new fortification has a circular plan - combined with arrow shaped bastions - and in its centre the Cathedral of Ayia Sofia. On the perimeter three gates are placed allowing the entrance to and departure from the city. Defensive optimisation SymbolComparison of Venetian of the fortifications coat of arms, of Famagusta Nicosia (left half) with the fortification of Palma (right half) made by Giulio Savorgnan, the architect of both cities. The previous fortification of the Frankish rule was demolished to give place to the Venetian fortifi- cation which was much more compact and efficient in terms of defence. The inner buildings of the new wall were supposed to be built in a strict geometrical radial setting but due to the high prices of the plots for the scenario of the radial setting this plan failed. The design principles of the fortification 2M 700 venetian feets (243,11m) 1M 1M’ 560 venetian feets (194,48m) 1 Gate Giouliana (Famagusta gate) 2M’ 2 Gate San Domenico (Paphos Gate) 3 Gate Del Provetitore (Kyrenia Gate) 0 1000 2000 Venetian feet (0.34 m) 0 500m Meters SymbolDiagram of for Venetian analysing coat the of structure arms, Famagusta of the Venetian fortification.