Shortly into our trip to Cyprus, one of my classmates read about Pano Lefkara, or the Lace Village. The Lace Village is a small mountain town about 40 minutes from Larnaca that is known for its handmade lace work and its extensive filigree silver work. As soon as my classmate learned about the Lace Village, all of us were intrigued and desperately wanted to go. After long periods of planning and figuring it out, most of us opted to go for an afternoon in the Lace Village. Getting to the Lace Village required going on windy mountain roads. The Lace Village is a tiny town with not that many inhabitants, all of whom mainly work on lace or silver.

            As we walked around, we saw women and men sitting outside of the shops that look like houses beckoning us to come inside and look at their stuff. Most of the women specialize in the lace work, while the men do filigree silver work. The lace work is a tradition that is passed down from mother to daughter. The lace work is done on a special linen, and they only use three colors. In order to sell the lace as Lefkara lace, it has a special authentication sticker on it. They also only do very specific lace patterns as per the lace-making traditions. One can buy linen table cloths with lace detailing as well as table runners, coasters, designs encased in glass, and lace in glass trays. There is a very special lace design that almost every shopkeeper will tell you about, which is the da Vinci lace. This pattern is the one that Leonardo da Vinci bought from the village of Lefkara. One of the shop owners showed me a picture of the last supper painted by da Vinci and claimed that the table cloth was Lefkara lace due to its pattern. Lefkara lace is the livelihood of this village; it is what they do to make a living, but it is also a deep part of their culture and history. One of the shopkeepers told me the lace village was slowly dying as the girls who usually learn around 11 from their mothers are less and less interested in keeping up with the tradition. Lefkara is the only place in the world where this lace comes from, and if it is not passed on through the generations, it will go extinct. I really hope that doesn’t happen, but in case it does, I would highly recommend visiting Lefkara if you get a chance.

Madi Barber