Limassol is the second-largest city in Cyprus. Limassol municipality has a population of 101,000, while the metropolitan area has a population of 184,000. It is the largest city in geographical size, and Limassol municipality is the largest and most populous on the island. The city is located on Akrotiri Bay on the island’s southern coast, and it is the capital of Limassol District, which has a population of 235,000. Limassol is one of the busiest ports of the Mediterranean transit trade and the largest port in Cyprus. It has also become one of the most important tourism, trade, and service-providing centres in the area. Limassol is renowned for its extensive cultural traditions, and is home to the Cyprus University of Technology. A wide spectrum of activities and a number of museums and archaeological sites are available to the interested visitor. Consequently, Limassol attracts a wide range of tourists mostly during an extended summer season to be accommodated in a wide range of hotels and apartments. A large marina is currently being constructed near the old town.
The development of tourism in Limassol began after 1974 when the Turkish invaders occupied Famagusta and Kyrenia, the principal tourist resorts of Cyprus. Limassol has a lot of beaches, suitable for sunbathing and swimming. A bathing beach with all the necessary facilities, provided by the “Cyprus Tourism Organisation” (CTO), is operating in the town of Limassol, in the Dasoudi area. Limassol became the major sea port of the Republic of Cyprus in 1974. Before 1974, that role had been filled by Famagusta which is now located in the Turkish controlled part of the island which is not recognised as a legal port by any country except Turkey.
Limassol is the base for many of the island’s wine companies, serving the wine-growing regions on the southern slopes of the Troodos Mountains (of which the most famous is Commandaria). The wines and cognacs (brandies) that are produced by the grapes that grow in the countryside, are of excellent quality. They have won several awards in international exhibitions. There is a considerable consumption of wine products in Cyprus by the locals and the foreign visitors. Big quantities are exported to Europe.
[caption id="attachment_229022" align="aligncenter" width="412"] Leonardo da Vinci by Francesco Melzi[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially rested on his achievements as a painter, he also became known for his notebooks, in which he made drawings and notes on a variety of subjects, including anatomy, astronomy, botany, cartography, painting, ...
