Frankish-Venetian Cyprus: Effects of the Renaissance on the ecclesiastical architecture of the island
Abstract: The paper deals with the effects the renaissance had on the Orthodox ecclesiastical architecture of the island. Cyprus at this time was under Latin and specifically Venetian rule. However the Venetian government was more interested in establishing a defensive strategy against the threat of the Ottoman Empire rather than building the fine renaissance architecture we see in Italy. However, small morphological details and typologies managed to infiltrate the local architecture. This was done through the import of ideas and designs by Venetian architects and engineers who travelled around the colonies or through the use of easily transferable manuals of architects such as Serlio and Palladio. Perhaps the most important discovery for the Cypriot Orthodox ecclesiastical edifices, is the use of harmonic rules, the Venetian foot and ratios used by the Renaissance.
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