CHURCH AGIOS NIKOLAOS TIS STEGIS

The Greek Orthodox church of "St. Nicholas of the Roof" (Ιερός Ναός Αγίου Νικολάου της Στέγης/Ieros Naos Agiou Nikolaou tis Stegis) takes the form of a humble sheepfold. But it boasts frescoes dating from the ^11th to ^17th centuries and is one of the most valuable of the ten painted churches on the Troodos listed as a Unesco World Heritage Site. Perched 800 m above sea level, next to the source of the Karkotis river, a souvenir store, a parking lot and the soccer pitch in the hamlet of Agios Nikolaos, in the municipality of Kakopetria, it belonged to a monastery founded in the ^11th century and active until the ^19th century. Dedicated to St. Nicholas, the church owes its name to its wooden tile roof, added in the early ^12th century to protect the building from the elements. This roof conceals another roof and a dome. And inside, six centuries of wall paintings burst forth in a thousand colors despite the darkness.

"Cypriot style". While few of the original ^11th-century frescoes have survived, those from the ^12th and ^13th centuries are truly remarkable. They bear witness to the maniera cypria ("Cypriot manner"), an artistic expression blending Latin and Byzantine influences that developed with the arrival of crusaders and Christians from the Near East following the failure of the Second Crusade (1147-1149). They were financed by the powerful Frankish Ravendel family, who had several lords of the fortress of Maraclée, on the Syrian coast, until 1265 or 1271. Among the ^12th-century frescoes, note the Parousia (a concept that designates both the invisible presence of Christ and his announced return at the end of time) in the narthex, and the Presentation of Mary at the Temple in the south-western part of the nave. The ^13th-century scenes of the Crucifixion, Resurrection and Myrophores (Mary Magdalene and the ointment-bearers discovering Christ's empty tomb) are divided between the narthex and nave. The ^14th-century frescoes were lost when the building's façade was remodeled. Among the frescoes added in 1633 is that of the apostles Peter and Paul. In Nicosia, the Byzantine Museum holds several icons from the church. Among them, the oldest and most astonishing is the ^13th-century icon of Saint Nicholas, depicting three members of the Ravendel family kneeling in prayer at the foot of the saint.