There was a time seven centuries ago when Famagusta's wealth and renown could be compared to that of Venice or Constantinople. The Cathedral of St Nicholas in the main square of Famagusta, serving as the coronation place for the Crusader Kings of Jerusalem after the fall of Acre in 1291, symbolised both the sophistication and permanence of the French society that built it. From the port radiated impressive commercial activity with the major Mediterranean trade centres, generating legendary wealth, cosmopolitanism, and hedonism, unsurpassed in the Levant. These halcyon days were not to last, however, and a 15th century observer noted that, following the Genoese occupation of the city, 'a malignant devil has become jealous of Famagusta'. When Venice inherited the city, it reconstructed the defences and had some success in revitalising the city's economy. But the end for Venetian Famagusta came in dramatic fashion in 1571, following a year long siege by the Ottomans. Three centuries of neglect followed which, combined with earthquakes, plague and flooding, left the city in ruins. The essays collected in this book represent a major contribution to the study of Medieval and Renaissance Famagusta and its surviving art and architecture and also propose a series of strategies for preserving the city's heritage in the future. They will be of particular interest to students and scholars of Gothic, Byzantine and Renaissance art and architecture, and to those of the Crusades and the Latin East, as well as the Military Orders. After an introductory chapter surveying the history of Famagusta and its position in the cultural mosaic that is the Eastern Mediterranean, the opening section provides a series of insights into the history and historiography of the city. There follow chapters on the churches and their decoration, as well as the military architecture, while the final section looks at the history of conservation efforts and assesses the work that now needs to be done.
Author(s): Michael J. K. Walsh, Peter W. Edbury, Nicholas S.H. Coureas
Publisher: Routledge
Year: 2012
Language: English
Pages: 388
City: London
Cover
Half Title
Title Page
Copyright Page
Table of Contents
List of Figures
List of Plates
List of Tables
Notes on Contributors
Foreword
Preface
Acknowledgements
Introduction - Famagusta: An Imperilled Cultural Mosaic in the Eastern Mediterranean
Part I: History and Historiography
1 Camlet Manufacture, Trade in Cyprus and the Economy of Famagusta from the Thirteenth to the Late Fifteenth Century
2 Famagusta and the Tradition of History Writing in Frankish Cyprus
3 Mythes et réalités de la présence templière à Famagouste
4 Taverns in Medieval Famagusta
Part II: Art and Architecture
5 St Nicholas in Famagusta: A New Approach to the Dating, Chronology and Sources of Architectural Language
6 Notes on the Marginal Sculpture of the Cathedral of St Nicholas
7 Les Ordres mendiants à Famagouste: une référence spirituelle et architecturale
8 The Holy Mother of God Armenian Church in Famagusta
9 Gothic and Byzantine in the Monumental Arts of Famagusta: Diversity, Permeability and Power
10 Famagusta from a Latin Perspective: Venetian Heraldic Shields and Other Fragmentary Remains
11 The Military Architecture of Venetian Famagusta
Part III: Conservation
12 What Lies Beneath: A Contemporary Survey of the Surviving Frescoes of the Churches in the Syrian Quarter of Famagusta
13 Twentieth-Century Restorations to the Medieval and Renaissance Monuments of Famagusta
14 Monumental Buildings in the Revitalization Process of Historic Urban Quarters: The Case of the Walled City of Famagusta
15 An Inspection of Three of Famagusta’s Churches
16 An Assessment of the Structural Fabric of the Church of Saints Peter and Paul: A Case Study in Historical Record and Structural Appraisal
17 The Historic Walled City of Famagusta, 2008: A Report
Appendix I
Appendix II: Press Release
Appendix III: Chronology of Venetian Administration, for Dating the Coats of Arms of Famagusta
Appendix IV: Armenian Manuscript Colophons from Famagusta and Cyprus
Appendix V: Typed Notes by M[onica] Bardswell, February 1937 from Conway Library, Courtauld Institute
Bibliography
Index
