Description of the attraction
The so-called Venetian Walls are a grandiose defensive structure of the city of Nicosia, which was created under the leadership of the Italian military engineers Francisco Barbaro and Giulio Savorgiano. The construction, or rather the modernization of the already existing fortifications, began in 1567 almost immediately after the seizure of this territory by the Venetians, and lasted for several years. During this time, the new owners of Nicosia demolished several old palaces and churches to obtain building materials and at the same time in this way improved the overview of the territories adjacent to the settlement. In addition, according to the project of engineers, the Pedieos river remained outside the city wall. On the one hand, this was done to protect Nicosia from possible flooding, as well as to fill the protective ditch along the perimeter of the wall with river water.
However, all the efforts of the builders were in vain - soon, namely in 1570, the city was easily captured by the Ottomans, led by Admiral Lala Mustafa Pasha. Moreover, the Venetians did not manage to complete the construction of their grandiose defensive structure around the city.
At the moment, the circumference of the fortification is about three miles, and around the perimeter there are 11 bastions in the form of regular pentagons. These towers were named after the famous Italian aristocratic families of Nicosia, who provided funds for the construction of the wall. There were also three main gates through which one could get into the city: Porta San Domenico (gate of Paphos), Porta del Proveditore (gate of Kyrenia) and Porta Juliana (gate of Famagusta).
