Lefkara lace, an embroidery seven centuries old

Lefkara lace is one of those traditions that explains a whole village. In Lefkara people embroider in the street, in groups, while they talk, and that way of working is exactly what UNESCO set out to protect.

What it is

Since 2009 it has been on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. It explains that the tradition of Lefkara can be traced to the 14th century or earlier and mixes local craft, the embroidery of the Venetian courtiers who ruled the island from 1489, and Greek and Byzantine geometric motifs. Using hemstitch, cutwork, satin stitch fillings and needlepoint edges, the lace-makers produce tablecloths, napkins and display pieces. The main photo shows the corner of one such piece.

A women’s craft learnt at home

According to UNESCO, it’s still the main occupation of the village women, who embroider together in the narrow streets or on covered patios. Girls learn over years of watching and then through formal teaching from their mother or grandmother. Once they’ve mastered the craft, each lace-maker uses her imagination to design pieces that combine tradition with her own personality.

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The tourist board’s version

The Larnaca Tourism Board tells the story with a little more colour. It says the lace has been made in the village since Venetian times, between 1489 and 1570, when Lefkara was a holiday retreat for nobles and Venetian ladies taught local women the embroidery. It’s the board that passes on the story of a large altar cloth supposedly bought in the village by Leonardo da Vinci for Milan Cathedral. And it gives the technical details. It’s made in just ten designs, on Irish linen with French thread, in three colours, white, brown and beige, and the pieces are reversible.

Where to see and buy it

Old pieces are on show in the free Lefkara Embroidery and Silversmith Museum. The municipality’s Handicraft Centre teaches lace and silver filigree to new generations, in a building given by the committee of the Holy Cross church and supported by a pilot scheme of the Cyprus National Commission for UNESCO. Close by in Kato Drys, a small museum combining beekeeping and needlework displays lace dating from 1880 onwards.

The board warns that only lace made in Lefkara the traditional way is authentic, though it’s sold in souvenir shops all over the island. I’d buy it in the village.

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Not to be confused with Athienou lace

In Athienou a different lace is made, with its own techniques called venis and oloplouma, freestyle and without set designs, which is on the national intangible heritage list. It’s another tradition, worth a visit of its own, and the two make a good pair on a crafts route.

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