Athienou, the village of bread and freestyle lace

Few guidebooks bother with Athienou, which strikes me as an oversight. It has four traditions on the national intangible heritage list, and almost all of them are either eaten or embroidered.

Where it is

Athienou is a municipality in Larnaca district, about 19 km from Larnaca and 20 from Nicosia in a straight line. It had 5,202 inhabitants in 2021. The main photo shows one of its streets of white houses, with an old stone building to one side.

The bread

The Larnaca Tourism Board explains that Athienou has long been famous for its bread and rusks. Best known is the classic round Cypriot loaf, made from local flour, water and salt, which starts with a sourdough once prepared with holy water from the Feast of the Holy Cross or with water from the first rain. In the 20th century several families began selling it from vans and bakeries all over the island. The craft is on the national intangible heritage list and is explained in a restored flour mill and in the municipal museum.

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The lace and the lokoumi

Athienou has its own lace, different from Lefkara’s. It’s called venis or pittotes, and oloplouma, and is embroidered in cotton thread on a pillow. Unlike lefkaritika, with ten set designs, the motifs here are freestyle, geometric or richly embellished, according to the lace-maker’s inspiration. It’s taught at a centre in the municipality. And for the sweet tooth there’s lokoumi, the wedding biscuit of semolina and butter with almonds and icing sugar, also on the national list.

The feast of St Phocas

Every 21 and 22 September since 1887, Athienou has celebrated St Phocas with services, cultural events and the «panigyri», a fair of stalls with food and games of chance. There are loukoumades, honey doughnuts, and shiamishi, semolina pastries. The board says it’s the only church on the island dedicated to the saint.

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The museums

The Kallinikeio Municipal Museum, in the town hall, traces the area’s history from the Late Bronze Age, with archaeological, ecclesiastical art and ethnographic collections. You can visit on weekdays between 8:00 and 15:00 for €2. The «Archbishop Georgios» Ecclesiastical Museum, opened on 18 July 2025 beside the church of Panagia Chryseleousa, holds objects from the 15th to the 21st century and the collection of Archbishop George III, who was born here. Visits are by appointment and free.

Fitting it into a trip

Athienou fits neatly on a journey between Larnaca and Nicosia, without a big detour, and a weekday visit lets you combine the municipal museum with a bakery stop. If crafts are what draw you inland, round off the route with Lefkara lace and the pottery of Kornos.

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Once your dates are set, check which hotels are still free in Larnaca before prices climb.