by Romfea.news
The restoration of the historic church of Panagia in the occupied village of Assia will be completed during the second half of 2019, according to Takis Hadjidemetriou, Head of the Technical Committee on Cultural Heritage. Hadjidemetriou also added that after the recent floods, the Commitee will seek international expertise, to avoid similar incidents in the future.
Conservation works of the church of Saints Sergius and Bacchus and the church Saint Artemon are also underway, while the restoration of a part of the Venetian walls of occupied Nicosia is being scheduled for the end of winter.
On Wednesday, members of the bicommunal Technical Committee and of the United Nations Development Programme, along with Greek Cypriot refugees from the region, visited Panagia of Assia. Speaking to CAN (Cyprus News Agency), Hadjidemetriou said that this visit is part of the Asian refugee information programme on conservation projects.
This visit is “part of our programme, as we are not just restoring churches, but we are making the monuments accessible to people,” said Hadjidemetriou. Regarding the church of Panagia, which some time ago was damaged due to the flood caused by heavy rainfall, Hadjidemetriou said that the monument conservation works have begun and are expected to be completed in the second half of 2019.
Although measures have been taken to drain water, Hadjidemetriou said that after the recent floods, international expertise will be sought on what to do in such cases.
He also said that at this stage the Technical Committee has finished its plans and has launched the invitation to tender for the award of the conservation works in Saints Sergius and Bacchus, while the work is under way at St. Artemon in Afania.
