Matikoloni seems to be an ordinary Cyprus village with forests, vineyards and mountain air. But behind her calm appearance, an amazing story is hidden: the feud of the Knights of the Gospitallers, the disappeared churches, traces of antiquity and even shooting of the British series.
The village of Matikoloni is located in the Limassol region, about 16 km north of the city and at an altitude of 360 meters above sea level. A channel of the Monastiri river, the tributary of the Hermasyoya River, passes through the village. Today, about 150 people live in this place.
In the past, the local population was engaged in agriculture, planting wheat, grapes, citrus fruits, almonds, olive and rye trees, legumes. However, most of the village is unprocessed areas of the Earth, where pine trees, alkholitic oaks, incense and other plants grow. The northern part of the territory of the village is included in the National Forest of Limassol. At the highest point, the height above sea level reaches 800 meters.
Probably, the settlement in this place has existed from the Middle Ages. In the life of St. Iraklidia mentions the place of Lita Kolony, which was located between Kurion and Melini, where the saint healed the demolition. Some researchers correlate this settlement with Matikoloni on the basis of geographical data. An ancient tombstone of stele was found in Matikoloni, which is today stored in the Limassol Archaeological Museum.
During the dominance of the francs, the village is called just Mati. It was included in the feudal possessions belonging to the Order of the Knights-Gospitallers (the memory of them was preserved in the name of the village of the village of the village of the village).
According to local traditions, until the end of the 18th century there were seven parishes in the village, each with his own church. Even if this is true, until today only the church of St. Nikolai and the Church of St. George.
In 1979, the BBC channel shot the episodes of the series The Aphrodite Inheritance in the village (directors Terents Williams and Victor Ritelis).
The text is prepared based on the materials of the IX-Andromeda and Polygno.
Photo at the beginning of the article: Xaris333 / Wikipedia.org (Cropped), License CC by-SA 4.0
