The Abbe Giovanni Mariti wrote an account of the condition of Cyprus in 1769, almost 100 years after the final conquest of the island by the Ottoman Turks. Mariti travelled widely around the island in the seven years during which he served there as a consular official, and as well as recounting his own visits to towns, villages and monasteries, he describes contemporary events such as the outbreak of plague in 1760 and the failed insurrection against the Turks in 1764. This English translation, first published in 1895, also provides contemporary eyewitness accounts of the sieges of Nicosia and Famagusta which ended Venetian rule in 1570-1, and of the torture and death of the Venetian commander of Famagusta, Marcantonio Bragadino, a story which has passed into legend.

Table of Contents

1. A general view of the island and kingdom of Cyprus; 2. Concerning the port and town of the Salines; 3. Of the ancient city of Citium, now destroyed; 4. Of the city of Larnaca; 5. Excursion from the city of Larnaca to that of Nicosia; 6. Concerning the city of Nicosia, capital of the island and kingdom of Cyprus; 7. Excursion from the city of Nicosia to the town and fortress of Cerines; 8. The town and fortress of Cerines; 9. Departure from Cerines, and description of the convent of Lapasis; 10. Excursion from Lapasis to the convent of St Chrysostom; 11. Departure from St Chrysostom; 12. The city of Famagusta and its neighbourhood; 13. Of the ancient city of Salamina now destroyed and its neighbourhood; 14. Departure from the neighbourhood of Salamina and return to Larnaca; 15. Excursion from Larnaca to the Salines; 16. Journey from the village of Citti to the City of Limasol; 17. Journey from Limasol to Paphos; 18. Journey from Pafo to Lapito; 19. Of some villages and hamlets; 20. Of an insurrection which occurred a short while since; 21. One the commerce of the island of Cyprus; 22. Of the consuls of European sovereigns; 23. Of the various officers of the consulates; 24. The duties of protected subjects in the Levant; 25. Account of the plague of A.D. 1760 in the island of Cyprus; 26. Sundry notes on Cyprus; 27. Notes on the Turkish mosque in Cyprus called Tekye; 28. On the asp of Cyprus; 29. Of the site of Citium; 30. The sieges of Nicosia and Famagusta; Index.