Laneia - the village of painters

Thousands of people take the road between Limassol - Trodoos to venture up the mountains, but only a few would turn right to Laneia to discover the tiny jewellery box village.

Painters and artists, among many others, who appreciate peace and tranquility made their home in the village, which is surrounded by mountainous landscape, the narrow streets of outstanding beauty and picturesque views. This is why Laneia is called the village of painters.

I had been planning to visit for a while, mainly because I wanted to see the place of John Corbidge, who I mentioned earlier in my Pissouri post, the artist who decorated the All saints chapel.

Sadly, his house was closed, so I missed the chance, however, the village itself compensated me more than enough.

We passed by a brick wall, where a huge photo of the early settlers - bridge builders and the map of the village is displayed. Throughout Laneia many houses are having similar, historical photos up, and even more open doors with the local trademarks behind them, such as wine press, olive mills, shoemakers...

The colours of the village are so vibrant, flowers and gorgeous plants are blooming in front of the houses, the streets are clean, what more you can ask for?

A little, abandoned, hidden behind grapes and fig trees house in its ruins.

In a few meters away we reached the church and the main square where we found a small local coffee shop to have a break at. Got some cold refreshments, sat among the locals before we continued our village tour.

There's a folkloric museum behind the church, which was closed now but I still had a nice glimpse of it from the outside. A few doors later we ran into an olive and wine press and even a small library, which one open for anyone who'd like to borrow a book or two. I'm big fan of books, so I specifically appreciated this effort of the locals. So did Hubby when he found Jamie's cookbook.

One of the quirkiest spots in the village is a residential house with its intensively decorated yard, which I just call Dollhouse. I wish I knew more about it or about the owner, but apart from their obvious love for dolls I can't tell any other stories.

As I mentioned earlier, Laneia gives home to several artists and we had the chance to visit Michael Owen's home and gallery. Although Michael and his wife, Jaqueline were away, the housesitting lady let us in and proudly showed us around. The house is a beautiful sight itself, decorated in rustic, local customs style. A charming and very peaceful home.

Michael Owen has been living and painting in Cyprus since 1971, after having travelled and served in numerous locations worldwide.

He has original paintings in private collections in the National Gallery of Cyprus, the Limassol Municipality, the Presidential Palace, the Cyprus Parliament and in private collections in the following countries:

Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Brazil, Britain, Canada, Channel Islands, China, Cyprus, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Holland, Hungary, India, Ireland, Iraq, Isle of Man, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Lebanon, Malaysia, Monaco, New Guinea, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Singapore, Spain, Sudan, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Tanzania, Thailand, Turks & Caicos Islands, Ukraine, U.A.E, U.S.A and Zimbabwe.

We were lucky enough to see many of his beautiful oil and watercolour paintings on display.

After a lovely chat we said goodbye and returned to the cobblestone streets.

At the corner we found another lovely display, this time of a shoemaker's shop. I loved all those details from the past.

We slowly made our way back to the Tavern, I wanted to check the village map one more time, as I was determined to find John Corbidge's atelier too.

We took a few wrong turns but at the end we made it. So my biggest sadness, the house was closed, so I didn't have the chance to look around.

I found a few pictures online and I will include them as I don't think I will have the opportunity to revisit the place.

We had an absolutely wonderful time in Laneia. It's a perfect place to enjoy the rural lifestyle, away from the noisy city and the crowds of loud tourists.