Eleftheria Square, Nicosia, Cyprus

New urban square at the heart of Nicosia aims to reconnect the two halves of the city

The project of Eleftheria Square is situated in the political context of Nicosia, Europe’s last divided capital and in the historical context of the adjacent Venetian Wall which is buffered by a recessed moat that presently consists of a mainly inaccessible garden and landscape areas. This massive fortification defines the extents of the ancient city and separates it from the modern city outside the walls.

The architectural intervention at Eleftheria Square, which is only a part of a much larger urban planning vision that could become a catalyst for the urban unification of the capital, aspires to organise and synthesise the whole of the Venetian Wall, the Moat and the fringes of inner and the outer parts of the city into a unified whole.

As a result of the architecturally coherent and continuous solution, the Venetian Monument can be reinstated the as a main part of the identity of the city. The moat can become Nicosia’s main park that will provide recreational and cultural facilities while Eleftheria Square will offer a gathering space for public events in a city that still today lacks significant civic spaces.