ARCHBISHOP'S PALACE
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Official residence of the head of the Orthodox Church of Cyprus, at the center of a complex with four museums and two co-cathedrals.
This palace (Αρχιεπισκοπικό Μέγαρο/Archiepiskopiko Megaro, Archbishop's Palace) is the official residence of the Archbishop of Cyprus, the head of the country's Orthodox Church. The building has a considerable aura on the island, both religiously and morally, as well as politically, and is sometimes referred to as a "presidential palace". A confusion that owes much to Marakios III who was both Archbishop (1950-1977) and President of the Republic (1974-1977) of Cyprus. And it was he who had the palace built between 1956 and 1960. This neo-Byzantine style two-story building has a 50-meter wide façade. Although it is not open to visitors, it is part of a vast complex that includes several accessible buildings, some of them very interesting. First of all, there is the old Archbishop's Palace (15th century) which houses the Museum of Popular Art and the Museum of National Wrestling. Next to it is the courtyard that leads to the entrance of the Makarios-III Cultural Foundation. This consists of the Byzantine Museum and the Makarios-III Art Gallery. Finally, the complex includes not one but two cathedrals: the 17th century Agios Ioannis Theologos Cathedral and the new Apostolos Varnavas Cathedral consecrated in 2021. Surrounded by gates, the palace also features a bust of Makarios III as well as the two armored cars of the archbishop-president displayed behind a glass case: a 4.2-ton Cadillac Fleetwood and a Mercedes 600, the same as those of Elvis Presley and Mireille Mathieu.