Filani

Filani is a dilapidated settlement located about 6 km southwest of the Politiko of Nicosia in the homonymous province of Cyprus.

Built at an altitude of about 600 meters, Filani is located on the eastern shore of the Pedieou River and in a lush green environment.

It is said that its inhabitants would never abandon it, since the soil of their land had yielded wealth to their fields and their agricultural crops (vineyards, olives, etc.) until an infectious disease occurred and decimated them all.

Judging from the architecture of the ruins, we conclude that Filani probably had been founded a few years after the end of the Ottoman domination in the island by the families of the villages of Politiko of Nicosia, Lazaria, Fikardo and Pera Orini, who rented land from the Monastery of Machaira, while the low stone fences, made from river stones, show that the inhabitants were not at all engaged in livestock farming, nor were they at risk of pirate attacks. The owners of some of these houses seem to have been among the wealthy people of the time, as they even had a private lino (a special area which locals had previously used for the production of oil and wine). According to local testimonies, some of the best varieties of wine were produced in the area, and some of the inhabitants were also engaged in beekeeping, which is confirmed by the “tziverka” (earthen round pots) found in the houses.

Today, south of the ruins of Filani, the visitor can see a huge tree trunk, the oldest pine of the island, the so-called Pinolia. North of this old settlement and at the highest point of the plain lies the imposing stone chapel of Agia Marina, a small basilica that is divided into three aisles and on one of its stones is inscripted the date of its construction, in 1819. In addition, another cultural attraction is the old mill of the Mahaira Monastery, which is located next to the provincial road. Finally, there is also a closed therapeutic community operating in the area.