Eight-metre angel statue for Ayia Napa

An eight-metre tall sculpture in the form of an angel will be an important new landmark in Ayia Napa, Mayor Yiannis Karousos said on Monday.

The sculpture, one from renowned Russian artist’s Petr Stronski’s famous ‘guardian angels of compassion and peace’, was donated to the municipality by the International Academy of Culture and Art of Russia. The only cost for the municipality will be transport and installation.

The gilded statue made of metal and fiberglass will be placed in the east side of Ayia Napa harbour in 2018.

“We showed him [the artist] all the potential spots like the square, the main roundabout and the cultural park and he decided on the harbour,” Karousos said. “He also changed the plans and the statue will be bigger than originally planned so it is more visible. Instead of being three metres tall now the base is three metres and the statue another five metres.”

According to the mayor, the gift was made to Ayia Napa instead of any other city in Cyprus because the Russian academy recognised the positive change regarding culture in the resort which now has a sculpture park and its own mermaid.

There are also strong ties with Russia due to tourism. Together with Protaras, the area attracts more than 400,000 Russian visitors every year, the mayor said.

The sculpture will be an added tourist attraction, he believes. “It will be one of the most impressive landmarks in the area”.

The artist has given more than 30 of these sculptures to destinations which have strong bonds with Russia over the past few years.

Each of the angels has an element connected to the place where it is located. The Ayia Napa structure holds the local Panayia in its hands, while the one in Cannes holds the famous Palm d’Or and the one at Lake Balaton in Hungary a dove. The largest one, 35-metres tall, is planned for Malta. Others can be found in Ierissos, Greece and Slovakia.

With the donations of the guardian angels the artist promotes multicultural understanding and cooperation throughout the world.

 

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