Pyrga Attractions

The village of Pyrga, 20mi/32km from Nicosia, has two churches and a mosque. One of these, at the entrance to the village, is the royal chapel of Ayia Ekaterini, also known as the Chapelle Royale, a Latin chapel built by Lusignans in 1421. It is a very small building, only 6m by 4m, with a single aisle. Inside there is a painting of its founders King Janus and his wife Charlotte de Bourbon, who are also present in the painting of the Crucifixion. The usual New Testament cycle of paintings can be seen, although only fragments of many of the paintings have survived. The Last Supper is the best preserved, while those of the life of the Virgin Mary, on the west wall, are hard to make out.

The Department of Antiquities is now restoring the paintings.