Situated in the northern foothills of the Troodos Mountains, at Kaliana (Nicosia district), on an outcrop in the western part of Solea valley at 600m a.s.l. The settlement at Kaliana is attested in various late medieval sources: in manuscript notes [Darrouzès (1957) 158 and Darrouzès (1959) 57] and in a Venetian document of 1515 [Aristeidou (1994) 274-75; Coureas (1997) 215, where ‘Caillane’ is identified with Koilani instead: see Lusignan (1580) 37v. and Kyprianos (1788) 52]; a notary 'Iohannes de Galiana' is attested in 1327 and 1329 [Coureas and Schabel (1997) 280 and 289], and the priest 'papa Johani de Kaliana' in 1423 [Richard (1962) 26-27], while ‘Cagliana’ was included among the properties granted by James II to his supporters in the 1460s [Mas Latrie (1886) 418].
Description: From the original structure of uncertain type (dome-hall? barrel vaulted?) only part of the north wall survives, bearing the 40 Martyrs’fresco panel, and two engaged piers flanking the adjacent door with a brick arch over a lintel (which has been replaced by a window). These portions of the original structure were incorporated in the present two-aisled timber roofed church [Papageorgiou (1975) 52-58; Stylianou (1985) 107; MKE 2, 202].
Dating: The fresco and the use of brick suggest a late 11th / early 12th-century date.
Later additions / alterations: The church was rebuilt as a single-aisled timber roofed structure in the 14th / 15th century, while the western extension and the south aisle were added in the early 20th century [Papageorgiou (1975) 55; Stylianou (1985) 107].
Modern repairs: Restoration was undertaken in the early 1970s, the fresco decoration was treated and the plaster was removed revealing more frescoes [ARDA 1971, 9, 1972, 11; AD 29 (1973/74) 1014].
Early literature: The church is mentioned very briefly in Jeffery (1918) 285 and Gunnis (1936) 243.
Plan/section: Papageorgiou (1975) 53.