"Αs much as the earth can drink"

A guided walk into one of Limassol’s hidden treasures: the Fytidou orchard, a long-forgotten garden with more than 50 towering palm trees. Once private and abandoned for decades, this remarkable space has been donated to the municipality and is now opening again to the public.

We will explore this garden in transition, a place where history, ecology, and community meet. At its heart stands a newly built circular drystone structure, made by hand as a collective act. It is not only an architectural gesture but also a reminder of how people once worked together to care for land and water. Here, we pause to reflect on the connections between humans, trees, stones, and the wider environment.

From the orchard, our walk continues through new pathways leading us to the coastline along the seafront to the old harbour. In retracing this vanished route we discovering how spaces long cut off can be reconnected.

During the event, traditional Cypriot treats will be offered by Terract-Salamiou, while the experience will be musically enriched with improvisations on the Ney by Panayiotis Tsappis and soundscapes curated by Elena Savvidou.

Sevina Floridou

Sevina Floridou is a Cypriot architect and cultural heritage researcher. Her work engages with the interaction of the two main communities of Cyprus, Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots. She has published a series of monographs covering a wide range of themes, for example Modernity, Conflict and Resilience in Nicosia’s Ottoman Baths (2019) and Dervishes and Women’s Rituals in Limassol (2022). The experience of historical research is channelled into her architectural practice in works such as the Oroklini Coastal Walkway (with Margarita Danou, State Architecture Award, Phaidon 2004), as well as in various restoration/conservation projects within the framework of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) bicommunal cooperation in Cyprus. In 2023 and 2024, she curated workshops within the framework of European Terraced Landscapes (ETL), mapping routes and the particular features of the dry-stone landscape. In 2025, she curated the architectural exhibition of Cyprus’s participation in the Venice Architecture Biennale. She is a member of the International Terraced Landscape Alliance (ITLA) and, since 2014, she has been teaching the course of Cultural Heritage at the University of Nicosia.

12:00 - 15:00:Open space — visitors are welcome to explore the orchard freely.

15:00: Narrative walk with architect Sevina Floridou, exploring how the “empty” space fills with shared experiences. Cypriot snacks offered.

16:00: Musical improvisations on medieval Makam by Panayiotis Tsappis (ney).