Must-seeUNESCO
Church of Archangel Michael, Pedoulas
One of the ten painted churches of Troodos on the UNESCO list
The story
This is a small single-room church under a wooden roof, the kind typical of Troodos villages. According to the inscription over the north entrance, it was built and painted in 1474 with money from the priest Basil Chamados. Above the inscription, he, his wife and their two daughters offer a model of the church to the archangel. The paintings are by a local master, Minas of Marathasa, and a painter’s name rarely survives in Cypriot churches. The wooden altar screen from the same period is painted with the coats of arms of the medieval Kingdom of Cyprus. Since 1985 the church has been on the UNESCO list “Painted Churches in the Troodos Region”.
Pedoulas and Kalopanagiotis are villages of the Marathasa Valley (Μαραθάσα), while Kakopetria and Galata are in the Solea Valley; they are easy to mix up. The Church of Archangel Michael is one of the ten painted churches of Troodos on the UNESCO list: nine were inscribed in 1985, and the tenth was added in 2001.
Visiting
Admission is free. The Department of Antiquities says the church is open all week but gives no hours. The church belongs to the Church of Cyprus, and the Department of Antiquities takes care of its protection and restoration. A few meters to the west, in a room of the former primary school, is a collection of icons from the 13th to the 20th century from the churches of Pedoulas.
On the way
Photos
Sources
- Department of Antiquities, Cyprus — Church of Archangelos Michail, Pedoulas
- UNESCO World Heritage Centre — Painted Churches in the Troodos Region
- Department of Antiquities, Cyprus — UNESCO Monuments
- Visit Cyprus (Deputy Ministry of Tourism) — Pedoulas village
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