19 Mediaeval Venetian Walls These impressive Walls surround the old town of Lefkosia. In the 14th century, during the Lusignan period, the city was protected by large mediaeval forts. The forts were later demolished by the Venetians and, in 1567, engineer Giulio Savorgnan was appointed to design the new Walls. They included eleven heart-shaped bastions, each named after prominent Venetian families including Caraffa, Constanza, and D’Avila as well as three gates (Porta Giuliana, Porta San Domenico, and Porta del Proveditore) adjacent to the bastions. The Walls were surrounded by an 80-metre-wide moat, filled with water diverted from the Pedieos River, that is now used as gardens, parks, sports fields, sculpture displays, and car parks. When the city was under the Ottomans, the Walls were repaired, and in the late 19th century, during British rule, the moat adjoining the D’Avila Bastion was repurposed and became the Lefkosia Municipal Gardens. Pyli Ammochostou (Famagusta Gate) Pyli Ammochostou (Famagusta Gate) is the most prominent of the three main gates in the Venetian Walls and was built in 1567 by Mediaeval Venetian Walls Pyli Ammochostou (Famagusta Gate) engineer Giulio Savorgnan in the Venetian Renaissance military style. It was originally called Porta Giuliana, after the engineer, but was later renamed, as it led to the port city of Ammochostos (Famagusta). Apart from an impressive façade, its vaulted passage features an 11-metre dome, with a circular oculus, similar to that of Rome’s Pantheon, and a wide pathway with rooms on each side. In 1980–81, the Municipality Mediaeval Venetian Walls
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