Sixth to eighth centuries
In the Byzantine Museum in Nicosia we saw early mosaics and icons. The sixth-century mosaics from Lythrangomi in the northern part of the island are especially important: their story concerns not only Byzantine art but also loss, illegal removal and the return of cultural heritage.
In Paphos we remembered a large double-sided icon of Saint Marina: one side is dated to the eighth century and the reverse to the fourteenth. The early image seemed very simple and almost artless to us, and for that reason particularly alive.
At the museums we focus on specific reference points: the Kanakaria mosaics, a sixth-century icon, Saint Marina, and the difference between mosaic and painted icon.
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