Byzantine icons in Cyprus: where to see the finest collections

An island that preserved what Byzantium lost

When the Byzantine Empire was destroyed by the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople in 1453, Cyprus was still a Venetian possession — and had been, in various forms, outside Ottoman control throughout the Iconoclast controversies of the 8th and 9th centuries that destroyed so much early Byzantine religious art. The result is that Cyprus preserves a density of early Byzantine icons, frescoes, and religious objects that even Greece — the core of the old Byzantine world — cannot match.

Understanding this history helps explain the particular intensity with which Cyprus guards its religious heritage. The stolen icon crisis of the 1970s and 1980s — when hundreds of icons and frescoes were looted from churches in Northern Cyprus after 1974 and sold through international art markets — is not a distant historical event for most Cypriots. It is living cultural trauma, and the ongoing legal battles to recover looted items continue to this day.

The Byzantine Museum, Nicosia

The Byzantine Museum of the Archbishop’s Palace in Nicosia (also called the Foundation of Archbishop Makarios III Art Gallery) is the single most important collection of Byzantine icons in Cyprus, and one of the finest in the world. The museum occupies the east wing of the Archbishop’s Palace complex in central Nicosia.

The collection of 230 icons spans from the 6th century to the 18th century. The earliest pieces — from the period before Iconoclasm (726–843 AD) — are extraordinarily rare. Very few pre-Iconoclast Byzantine icons survive anywhere in the world; the deliberate destruction of figurative religious images during the two Iconoclast periods eliminated most of what the early Byzantine Church had produced. Cyprus’s relative insulation from this controversy means that some of its early icons survived intact.

Key works in the collection:

The icons from Panagia Kanakaria (6th century): Among the most significant objects in the museum are fragments of 6th-century mosaic icons recovered through legal proceedings after their theft from the apse of Panagia Kanakaria church in Northern Cyprus following 1974. The case became internationally known when the Republic of Cyprus successfully sued an American art dealer in 1988 (Autocephalous Greek-Orthodox Church of Cyprus v. Goldberg), establishing important precedents for the repatriation of stolen cultural property. The returned mosaic fragments — depicting Christ, the Virgin, and Apostles — are displayed in the museum.

The Monastery of Antiphonitis icon collection: Icons removed from the Church of Antiphonitis (in the Kyrenia district of Northern Cyprus) were tracked through European and American auction houses over decades. Several have been returned through court action and diplomatic pressure; others remain missing.

The main collection: The standing collection includes icons of exceptional quality from across Cyprus’s Byzantine and post-Byzantine history — the Comnenian period (11th–12th centuries), the Lusignan era (the complex synthesis of Greek Orthodox and Latin Catholic artistic traditions), and the post-Byzantine 15th–18th century period when Cypriot icon painters maintained sophisticated workshops.

Opening hours and admission: Tuesday to Friday 09:00–16:30, Saturday 09:00–13:00. Admission approximately €1.50.

Nicosia: Private Walking Tour with a Local Guide

Kykkos Monastery — the most sacred icon

Kykkos Monastery, high in the Troodos mountains at 1,140 metres, is the most important monastery in Cyprus and among the most significant in the Orthodox world. It was founded in the late 11th century, according to tradition, when a Byzantine hermit received an icon of the Virgin Mary from the emperor of Constantinople — the icon is attributed in tradition to St Luke himself and is considered miraculous.

The original icon is not visible: it is permanently covered by a silver-and-gold repoussé cover and has, according to tradition, not been viewed by human eyes for centuries (uncovering it is believed to bring great misfortune). What you see at Kykkos is the covered icon in its elaborate frame, surrounded by the votive offerings of grateful pilgrims — ex-votos in silver and gold, representing healed limbs and answered prayers.

The monastery buildings visible today are largely from the 18th and 19th centuries, as the complex has burned and been rebuilt several times. The main church is lavishly decorated with modern mosaics in the Byzantine style, producing an effect that is opulent and somewhat overwhelming. The attached museum contains monastery treasury items — vestments, chalices, crosses — of considerable historical interest.

Kykkos is 120 km from Nicosia (2 hours drive) and 90 km from Paphos. It is reachable by organised day trip from both cities. The monastery operates continuously and admission to the church precinct is free; the museum has a small charge.

From Limassol: Troodos & Kykkos Monastery Tour

Icons in their original setting: the Troodos churches

The painted churches of the Troodos mountains (see our dedicated painted churches guide) contain not only frescoes but also portable icons in their original altar screens and church interiors. These icons — many from the 16th to 18th centuries — have remained in the churches for which they were painted, giving them an authenticity that no museum collection can replicate.

In particular, the icon screen (iconostasis) of Agios Nikolaos tis Stegis at Kakopetria contains icons that have been in continuous use for centuries. The relationship between the icons and their ritual function — the way they are kissed, lit with candles, hung with votive offerings — is part of understanding what these objects are. They are not art objects in the Western gallery sense; they are windows, in the Orthodox theological tradition, through which the holy becomes accessible.

The looted icons of Northern Cyprus

The events following the 1974 partition are essential background to understanding Cypriot icon culture. When Greek Cypriot inhabitants fled the north, they left behind churches full of icons, frescoes, and liturgical objects. Many of these were subsequently looted — some by soldiers, some by local individuals during the chaos of displacement, and many by organised art smuggling networks that served international collectors.

The scale of the loss is documented by the Cyprus government and international observers: more than 20,000 religious objects are estimated to have been removed from Northern Cyprus churches since 1974. The mosaics of Panagia Kanakaria — 6th-century work of exceptional rarity — were cut from the apse of the church and sold through art dealers in Munich and Indianapolis. The icons of Apostolos Andreas monastery on the Karpaz Peninsula were removed. The frescoes of Antiphonitis church were cut from the walls, some in fragments.

Legal battles to recover these objects have achieved significant successes — the Kanakaria mosaics, numerous icons returned from Germany, Belgium, and the United States — but many items remain in private collections and have not been recovered.

This context gives particular weight to the objects that are displayed in the Byzantine Museum and to the surviving decorated churches of the north. Seeing the Kanakaria mosaic fragments in Nicosia — knowing their history and knowing that the church they came from still stands empty in a village in Northern Cyprus — is an experience that no amount of historical distance makes abstract.

Practical visiting information

Byzantine Museum, Nicosia: Archbishop Makarios III Avenue, in the Archbishop’s Palace complex. Walk from the city centre (15 minutes from Eleftheria Square). Combine with the Folk Art Museum and the Archbishop’s Palace itself for a full morning.

Kykkos Monastery: requires either a car or an organised day trip. The mountain road is beautiful and the monastery can be combined with the Troodos summit area, the Cedar Valley, and the village of Pedoulas.

The Troodos churches: require a car and advance planning for access to locked buildings. See our full painted churches guide for practical advice.

From Paphos: Troodos Mountains & Villages Guided Day Trip

Frequently asked questions about Byzantine icons in Cyprus

Why does Cyprus have so many early Byzantine icons compared to Greece?

Cyprus escaped the worst effects of the Byzantine Iconoclast periods (726–843 AD), during which the imperial government ordered the destruction of figurative religious images and many thousands of icons were burned. Cyprus’s relative distance from Constantinople and its semi-autonomous ecclesiastical status meant that fewer icons were destroyed here. When Iconoclasm ended, Cyprus’s surviving early tradition formed the foundation for a continuous icon-painting tradition that lasted through the Ottoman period.

Can I buy authentic Byzantine-style icons in Cyprus?

Yes — several workshops in Nicosia, Larnaca, and Limassol produce icons in the traditional Byzantine technique (egg tempera on wood, with gold leaf backgrounds). Authentic hand-painted icons from skilled craftspeople cost €100–500 for medium-sized pieces. Printed reproduction icons are sold everywhere and cost €5–30. Do not confuse the two; printed icons are obvious on close inspection by their uniform dot-pattern printing.

Is photography allowed in the Byzantine Museum?

Photography without flash is permitted in most of the Byzantine Museum. The Kykkos treasury museum prohibits photography of specific items. The Troodos churches generally prohibit photography or restrict it to no-flash; always ask.

What happened to the Panagia Kanakaria mosaics after they were returned?

The mosaic fragments recovered through the 1988 US court case and subsequent legal proceedings are now displayed in the Byzantine Museum in Nicosia. They are among the highlights of the collection and are displayed with full documentation of the legal proceedings that led to their return.

Are any icons being returned from Northern Cyprus churches now?

This remains a contested political issue. Some restoration and conservation work has been conducted in certain northern churches, and there are reports of ongoing negotiations over specific objects. The Republic of Cyprus government maintains a database of missing religious objects and continues to pursue repatriation through legal channels. For travellers, the most practical contribution is to avoid purchasing any icon or religious object of apparent age through informal channels — legitimate antique icons from Cyprus are almost certainly stolen.