Historic Famagusta: A Millennium in Words and Images

Date: October 4, 2012 - 09:00 - October 6, 2012 - 18:35
Building: Nador u. 9, Faculty Tower
Event type: Conference
Event audience: Open to the Public


Historic Famagusta: A Millennium in Words and Images
The Center for Eastern Mediterranean Studies (CEMS) at Central European University in Budapest and The School of Art, Design and Media (ADM) at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University, is pleased to announce Historic Famagusta: A Millennium in Words and Images, a conference held on October 4-6, 2012 at Central European University, Budapest.

From as early as the tenth century a surprisingly large number of travel accounts, histories, poems, fiction narratives, theatre plays, administrative accounts as well as maps, prints and miniatures about Famagusta have come down to us. These texts and images can be found all over Europe and the Near East from the pens and brushes of Christian, Muslim and Jewish authors and artists. The recent resurgence of scholarly interest in pre-1960 Cyprus calls for studies and academic discussions on this vast corpus.

The aim of the conference is to create a platform for historians, art historians, and literary critics to share their studies on textual and visual representations of Famagusta between 1000 CE and 1960. By investigating medieval, early modern and modern Famagusta in text and images, the conference will serve as an opportunity for an interdisciplinary dialogue among the participants, with the hope of broadening perspectives on Famagusta’s cultural and material legacy.

Specific, thematically aligned papers will also be selected for an edited book of the same name.

List of Presenters and Papers
The titles below have been organised in a rough chronological way and are not arranged in the order in which they will appear in the conference.

Pierre-Vincent Claverie – Bishop Stephen I of Famagusta and his time (1244-1259).

Phillipe Trelat – Nicosia & Famagusta: Two capitals for one kingdom?

David Jacoby – Refugees from Acre in Famagusta around 1300

Nicholas Coureas – Artisans and craftsmen in Famagusta in the notarial deeds of Lamberto di Sambuceto and Giovanni da Rocha, 1296-1310

Marianne Sághy – Piety, politics and propaganda: Philippe de Mézières in Cyprus

Margit Mersch – Donors and politics after 1291: The development of hybrid ecclesiastical architecture in 14th century Famagusta

Michele Bacci – Identity markers in the art of 14th and 15th century Famagusta

Ulrike Ritzerfeld – Keeping the Holy Land in view: The Carmelite church in Famagusta and its decoration

Maria Paschalis – Assimilation in Famagusta: the evidence from the mural decoration at the churches of the Latin regular clergy

Thomas Kaffenberger – Harmonizing the sources: Textual, pictorial and material evidence contributing to a new insight into the construction history and original appearance of the orthodox Episcopal churches of Hagios Georgios and Hagios Epiphanios.

Ege Uluca Tumer – An unknown town gate and a church in Famagusta, Santa Maria de la Cava and Porta di Cava, in the historic texts from the 14th to the 16th centuries

Luca Zavagno – The lost origins of Famagusta: The churches of the Greek quarter.

Michel Balard – Les Soudoyers de Famagouste Genoise au XVe Siècle

Gianni Perbellini – Famagusta: The two wooden models in the Maritime Museum in the Arsenal of Venice

Benjamin Arbel – Famagusta as a centre of regional trade during the Venetian period

Allan Langdale – The image of empire: Stephano Gibellino’s print of the siege of Famagusta, 1571

Marios Hadjianastasis – Ladders, petards and responsibility: retracing the failed Tuscan attempt at capturing Famagusta, 1607 – 2012.

Will Spates – Orientalizing Famagusta on the English stage, 1573-1628

Tamás Kiss – The siege of Famagusta and its influence on Selim II's public image.

Vera Constantini – The city of Famagusta in early Ottoman sources

Michael Walsh – Cornelis de Bruyn’s copperplate and his fear of ‘turning Turks’ in seventeenth century Famagusta

Mehmet Tütüncü – Two Dutch travellers’ accounts of Famagusta in the 17th Century


Ünver Rüstem – Imports from Istanbul: Ottoman exiles to Famagusta and their tombs

Yurdal Cihangir – Famagusta in Namik Kemal’s letters and writings during his exile.

Lucie Bonato – The French rediscover Famagusta (1878-1912)

Andrekos Varnava – Famagusta during the Great War: From backwater to bustling

Jan Asmussen – Bertram John Weston and the creation of Cypriots

Danny Goldman – Famagusta 1946-49: Refugee camps and confiscated ships

Gül İnanç – William Dreghorn’s vision of Famagusta.

Zehra Cağnan – ‘A silent witness’: Seismic activity and the structural integrity of Saint Nicholas Cathedral Famagusta, Cyprus.

Werner Schmidt & Dan Frodsham – Saving the martyrs: The conservation of the Forty Martyrs of Sebaste in the church of Ss. Peter & Paul.

Hacer Başarır – The Kertikli Hamam: An historic building in danger

Hülya Yüceer – Recent preservation initiatives for the fortification walls of Famagusta by UNDP-PFF

Anthony Hyland – Urbs Famosa et Augusta: The mediaeval walled city of Famagustas claim to World Heritage Status

Carlos Jaramillo – Famagusta: A nomination strategy for World Heritage Status