Author: Christos

Located in the mountainous village of Kato Drys (which means ‘lower oak’ in Greek), this interesting and comprehensive museum is dedicated to olden-day village life and traditional industries and pastimes.

Housed in a four-room complex in a 300-year-old residence, the Bee & Embroidery Museum features over 1000 exhibits that showcase villager’s daily life through the ages – including old farming and household equipment and furniture – alongside information and displays related to bees and local beekeeping practises. In an additional neoclassic house (built in 1937), a rich collection of traditional lace and embroidery (Lefkaritika) dating back to 1880 is exhibited, along with various heritage artefacts. There are even some old souvenirs that the owner’s grandfather brought back from his trips to the UK to sell his lace, including collector’s items from the coronations of King George and Queen Elizabeth.

Visitors can take a guided tour; watch the making and preparation of homemade products (such as bread, dried figs and fig pies), and the production of wine and Zivania; take part in various seasonal activities such as olive, almond and grape picking; enjoy a coffee in the inner courtyard or the orchard, or purchase products made from honey, olives, wine and carobs.

As part of the Larnaka Virtual Museums project, you can tour the museum virtually here, with enriched and bonus material from home, or whilst at the museum for a hybrid experience.
 

The Museum of Christian Art – Christoforou Collection is housed in a renovated old residence, located opposite the Kostas Kaimakliotis Folklore Museum in Aradippou.

The museum exhibits over 300 pieces depicting the Greek Orthodox and various other faiths from around the world from the private collection of retired Cypriot diplomat Charalambos Christoforou.

The museum is divided into five themed exhibits: Greece-Cyprus; Europe; Russia; South America, and Engravings

Included in the collection are works by Salvador Dali and Raphael, and an original engraving by Rembrandt, as well as a painting by the famous Russian artist Evgeni Klemenov ‘The Songs of Mikis Theodorakis’, which depicts the legendary composer directing his orchestra.

As part of the Larnaka Virtual Museums project, you can tour the museum virtually below or in full screen here, with enriched and bonus material from home, or whilst at the museum for a hybrid experience.

Livadia village is home to a unique basket weaving folkart using cane and reeds, and the preservation of this significant part of the village’s history has been secured through the Craft of Caning Museum, Livadia, which showcases the art of weaving and was inaugurated in November 2016.

The museum is an initiative by Livadia Municipality to create a space to preserve and share its traditional basketry ‘calamoti’, which is only practiced by a handful of women today, but was once an incredibly important part of the villagers’ everyday life and employment.

In olden days, the women spent whole days of the year paring and splitting reeds in order to make various basketry products, and Livadia is the only place on the island where ‘psatharkes’ (traditionally used for roofing) are still made, with the craft also included on the UNESCO Intangible World Heritage List.

The museum displays this rich history in a modern and attractive way within a structure itself made with cane, and comprises a large array of baskets, musical instruments, tools and other interesting exhibits and information, including a photographic exhibition.

The bench outside the museum preserves reeds in resin to symbolise the enduring nature of the basket-weaving tradition and is lit up at night. It was made by Youth Makerspace Larnaka and sponsored by Larnaka Tourism Board.

As part of the Larnaka Virtual Museums project, you can tour the museum virtually here, with enriched and bonus material from home, or whilst at the museum for a hybrid experience.
 

Virtual video: https://virtuallarnakaregion.com/LivadiaCaningMuseum/

Experience the immersive 360 Virtual Tour in fullscreen mode – click here!