Nicosia a Divided City. A Research Plan for Its Documentation and Holistic Future Development

Nicosia is the last divided city in Europe. The fatal division was implemented after the dramatic Turkish invasion in 1974. The historic center of Nicosia, situated inside the emblematic Venetian walls faces many problems due to the abrupt rupture between the urban fabric and the communities of Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, but also due to the lack of recognition, protection and highlighting of its immense cultural value. The medieval past of the walled city of Nicosia, a monument with an impact beyond the borders of Cyprus, lies only partially discovered and understood. The pressure for new development in the city is growing, while demolition of deemed dangerous structures is causing discontinuities in the historic built fabric. However, the positioning of new proposed buildings appears to be random without an appraisal of the many values of the existing urban landscape and what most likely lies underneath, preceding it. The research program presented in this paper, develops a master plan of the medieval to the more recent built heritage of Nicosia, the monuments, historic sites, and topographies marked with a system using GIS. Thus, a more complete picture of the known past emerges and the final product has the ability to be continuously built up on a digital map, with layers of information pertinent to today’s issues of development. Historical research, archival records etc. have provided the necessary information to make a stratigraphy of the ancient topography and archaeological findings in the old city. This mapping has also enabled the completion of now fragmented sites of important monuments, providing a more coherent picture of the medieval heritage. Healing this fragmentation is not always possible but it will allow possible future development to take this into account, thus permitting the emergence of a coherent plan for the sustainable future planning of the historic center of Nicosia. The documentation and promotion of Cultural Heritage cannot alone provide solutions for the world in conflict, but it is a key for future holistic development.