The Fikardou Village
Dublin Core
Title
The Fikardou Village
Alternative Title
Το παραδοσιακό χωριό Φικάρδου
Description
Fikardou village is located on the south-eastern slopes of the Troodos Mountain range, about thirty kilometres (30 km) southwest of the capital city of Nicosia, on the Eastern Mediterranean island of Cyprus. The village is considered a genuine example of 18th and 19th-century folk architecture of Cyprus with modifications and additions belonging to the first decades of the 20th century. Due to its unique and well-preserved building structure, the settlement was put under the supervision of the Department of Antiquities in Cyprus in 1978 as an “Ancient Monument” and a “Controlled Area”. In 1984, the Department of Antiquities undertook, as part of a wider program to revitalize the village, to repair and restore the collapsing houses and generally to improve the entire image and structure of the village. Since 2002 the village has been included on the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List, aiming at high-quality protection and management of the components that constitute its uniqueness.
Although the evidence referring to the village’s origins is scarce, the use of a genitive case in the village’s name suggests that the village once belonged to a feudal family of the same name, as is the case for the neighbouring villages of Gourri and Lazania. Τhe village bears the name of a once opulent and important native family of Cyprus, known in the chronicles under the various spellings of Phicardo, Ficardi etc.” and one Tomazo Phicardo - a notary to King James II during Frankish rule in Cyprus - was a feudal lord of nearby villages and possibly owned the village for a time as a fief, thus passing on his name to the village, as was the case for many village fiefs of the time.
Fikardou is one of the few examples of a remarkable traditional settlement in Cyprus that has remained unspoiled over time and has managed to keep its architectural features and traditional way of life. The Department of Antiquities in 1978 declared the entire village an ‘Ancient Monument’ and a ‘Controlled Area’. The Department of Antiquities has made restorations on the old houses of the village which are great examples of mountainous Cypriot architecture of the 18th and 19th century, built with rough local stones and bricks in perfect harmony with the surrounding environment. The efforts of the Department made Fikardou, a former ruined village, a lively museum of traditional architecture. Forty houses of the 1920s which bear elements of folk architecture have been preserved to this day. The house of Katsiniorou and the house of Achilleas Dimitris have been honoured with the Europa Nostra prize in 1987-1988. The old houses were turned into museums accessible to the public and are run by the Department of Antiquities.
Fikardou is located about 38 km southwest of Nicosia, 58 km from Limassol, 70 km southeastern to Larnaka and almost 150 km from the city of Paphos. It is built in the geographical area of Pitsilias at an altitude ranging from 400 to 1100 m on the southeastern slope of the Troodos Mountain. In the centre of the settlement there is 18th century church of Peter and Paul which operates once a year on June 23, on the Saints’ name day. The entrance to the village is in the south, at the meeting point of the winding roads from the villages of Klirou and Gourri. The central paved road does not enter the inner branching of the settlement. The inner branching is consisted just by narrow, cobbled streets, suitable only for pedestrians and animals. To the north, Fikardou is connected to the village of Klirou, at a distance of about 7km and to the west to the village of Gourri, at 2 km. The road network of the village consists of the central road axis running from north to south, which is bound by two parallel, narrower roads at different elevations that communicate with the central one with vertical branches or meet at certain points. No street has a straight course at plan level, as it is formed by the property boundaries. The layout of the narrow roads does not exceed four meters in width, while the smallest road width is almost two meters. The only difference in the width of the streets is the small widenings, the dead ends, and the platforms (church, school) which we rarely meet in the settlement. The area is characterized by the strong slope of the ground and the road patterns follow the shape of the natural relief. The main axis, as well as the two parallel ones that flank it, are the longest, parallel to the curves of the mountainous relief, in contrast to the roads that are perpendicular to them, which are characterized by a dangerously steep slope that makes vehicle access impossible.
The process of holistic digitization and documentation of the movable and immovable tangible cultural heritage of Fikardou village is crucial for the protection, preservation and renovation of the village. Additionally, the 3D digitization process can significantly improve the accessibility of the unique cultural heritage of the village for research, innovation, education and enjoyment. For these reasons, the Fikardou village was chosen as case study in the Mnemosyne project.
Although the evidence referring to the village’s origins is scarce, the use of a genitive case in the village’s name suggests that the village once belonged to a feudal family of the same name, as is the case for the neighbouring villages of Gourri and Lazania. Τhe village bears the name of a once opulent and important native family of Cyprus, known in the chronicles under the various spellings of Phicardo, Ficardi etc.” and one Tomazo Phicardo - a notary to King James II during Frankish rule in Cyprus - was a feudal lord of nearby villages and possibly owned the village for a time as a fief, thus passing on his name to the village, as was the case for many village fiefs of the time.
Fikardou is one of the few examples of a remarkable traditional settlement in Cyprus that has remained unspoiled over time and has managed to keep its architectural features and traditional way of life. The Department of Antiquities in 1978 declared the entire village an ‘Ancient Monument’ and a ‘Controlled Area’. The Department of Antiquities has made restorations on the old houses of the village which are great examples of mountainous Cypriot architecture of the 18th and 19th century, built with rough local stones and bricks in perfect harmony with the surrounding environment. The efforts of the Department made Fikardou, a former ruined village, a lively museum of traditional architecture. Forty houses of the 1920s which bear elements of folk architecture have been preserved to this day. The house of Katsiniorou and the house of Achilleas Dimitris have been honoured with the Europa Nostra prize in 1987-1988. The old houses were turned into museums accessible to the public and are run by the Department of Antiquities.
Fikardou is located about 38 km southwest of Nicosia, 58 km from Limassol, 70 km southeastern to Larnaka and almost 150 km from the city of Paphos. It is built in the geographical area of Pitsilias at an altitude ranging from 400 to 1100 m on the southeastern slope of the Troodos Mountain. In the centre of the settlement there is 18th century church of Peter and Paul which operates once a year on June 23, on the Saints’ name day. The entrance to the village is in the south, at the meeting point of the winding roads from the villages of Klirou and Gourri. The central paved road does not enter the inner branching of the settlement. The inner branching is consisted just by narrow, cobbled streets, suitable only for pedestrians and animals. To the north, Fikardou is connected to the village of Klirou, at a distance of about 7km and to the west to the village of Gourri, at 2 km. The road network of the village consists of the central road axis running from north to south, which is bound by two parallel, narrower roads at different elevations that communicate with the central one with vertical branches or meet at certain points. No street has a straight course at plan level, as it is formed by the property boundaries. The layout of the narrow roads does not exceed four meters in width, while the smallest road width is almost two meters. The only difference in the width of the streets is the small widenings, the dead ends, and the platforms (church, school) which we rarely meet in the settlement. The area is characterized by the strong slope of the ground and the road patterns follow the shape of the natural relief. The main axis, as well as the two parallel ones that flank it, are the longest, parallel to the curves of the mountainous relief, in contrast to the roads that are perpendicular to them, which are characterized by a dangerously steep slope that makes vehicle access impossible.
The process of holistic digitization and documentation of the movable and immovable tangible cultural heritage of Fikardou village is crucial for the protection, preservation and renovation of the village. Additionally, the 3D digitization process can significantly improve the accessibility of the unique cultural heritage of the village for research, innovation, education and enjoyment. For these reasons, the Fikardou village was chosen as case study in the Mnemosyne project.
Creator
Source
The Department of Antiquities, UNESCO-WHTL
UNESCO Chair on Digital Cultural Heritage
Digital Heritage Research Lab Cyprus University of Technology
Digital Heritage Research Lab Cyprus University of Technology
EU ERA Chair on Digital Cultural Heritage - MNEMOSYNE
Horizon 2020 - TExTOUR
Horizon 2020 - IMPACTOUR
Digital Europe Programme - EUreka3D
Publisher
UNESCO and ERA Chairs on Digital Cultural Heritage
Digital Heritage Research Lab Cyprus University of Technology
Digital Heritage Research Lab Cyprus University of Technology
Date
Contributor
UNESCO and ERA Chairs on Digital Cultural Heritage
Digital Heritage Research Lab Cyprus University of Technology
Digital Heritage Research Lab Cyprus University of Technology
Rights
CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Relation
Europa Nostra
Format
JPG, PNG
Language
en
Type
Identifier
CS 13
Files
Collection
Citation
The Department of Antiquities , “The Fikardou Village,” Αψίδα, accessed December 22, 2024, https://apsida.cut.ac.cy/items/show/49272.