AGIA NAPA CHURCH

The Agia Napa church on Agiou Andreou Street is a historical monument of particular importance for the course of the city's contemporary journey. Though its location was once considered to be far from the center, it is today a landmark of the historical city center.

The imposing temple was built just a few years after the end of the Ottoman rule, marking a new age in the development of the city. This, however, did little to temper the controversies surrounding the design and location of the temple. Around 1885, a committee was established for the development of the project. By 1890, there had still not been any progress, and this led to protests from dissatisfied residents.

Eventually, in 1891, the long-awaited architectural design of the temple arrived from Athens, and so the reconstruction work began. A few years later, in 1910, the old church that once stood in the same area was demolished, despite protests from the public.

The church takes its name from an icon of the Virgin Mary, which was found in a glen (‘napa’ in Latin), and thus is dedicated to her. Other sources believe that the church owes its name to a temple built in the Frankish period, dedicated to the Holy Nappe of St. Berenice, known by the name of ‘Saint Nape’.The present church is three-aisled, with a marble iconostasis and frescoes mainly on the dome, and contains a silver-covered icon of Ayia Napa.

The church is open all year round and is closed on public holidays.