Pyrga, the village of the royal chapel

Pyrga is a small village below Stavrovouni with a Frankish-era treasure few people know about. Its royal chapel is tiny, but a king of Cyprus is painted on its walls, and that’s not something you see in many places.

Where it is

Pyrga is about 4.4 km from Stavrovouni Monastery, about 3 km from Kornos and about 19 km from Larnaca as the crow flies. In the 2021 census, which calls it Pyrga Larnakas, it had 870 residents.

The royal chapel of St Catherine

The Larnaca Tourism Board considers it one of the most interesting surviving buildings from the Frankish period on the island. It was built in 1421 by King Janus of Lusignan. It’s small, a single-aisled vaulted building without an apse, and it once had a portico on three sides. Until the end of the 19th century the ruins of a manor house or monastery attached to it were still visible, of which only traces remain today. The main photo shows the little stone chapel with its Gothic doorway.

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The paintings

The chapel was once painted throughout, though many paintings have been lost. On the east façade King Janus kneels with his second wife, Charlotte de Bourbon, before the Crucifixion. Another kneeling figure at the feet of Christ, in the Entombment scene, is thought to be Hugh of Lusignan, the king’s brother and Latin bishop of Nicosia. There’s also a series of coats of arms of the medieval Kingdom of Cyprus, and graffiti carved into the walls by pilgrims and travellers, with dates from the 15th and 16th centuries.

When to go

The chapel belongs to the Department of Antiquities and only opens on weekdays. From mid-September until 15 April the doors are open 8:30-16:00, and after 16 April the hours shift to 9:30-17:00. A ticket costs €2.50, and it doesn’t open on public holidays. Weekend visitors will find the door locked, which is worth knowing before you drive out.

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Around Pyrga

A dirt track towards Klavdia leads to Panagia Stazousa, a medieval monastery in early Gothic style. The board mentions a spring nearby with a reputation for healing and says the Stavrovouni monks care for the place today. In the autumn, the board’s calendar includes a Renaissance fair in Pyrga. The other photo shows a domed stone church in the village.

A morning below Stavrovouni

I’d combine Pyrga, Stavrovouni and Kornos in a single morning from Larnaca or Nicosia, starting with the chapel, which opens before 9:30 in winter. If Frankish monuments appeal, Larnaca Castle and the castles of Cyprus complete the period. And look out for the pilgrims’ graffiti, some of the few direct traces left by travellers of those centuries.

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