Initially, it was a rent with a number of restrictions. Therefore, the new owners were not keen to significantly express their presence on the island. But at the outbreak of the First World War, the Turks sided with the Germans, so the British unilaterally cancelled all previous arrangements. Feeling themselves full-fledged masters of the island, they began active construction of the public buildings.

In designing the hospital, the Malta-born engineer Joseph Gaffiero (1877–1953) opted for a balanced and austere British neoclassical style. The symmetrical main building gives us a glimpse of all the elements typical of such architecture: columns, pilasters, rustication, pediments, balustrades. The conservative and stable building was to the taste of the Cypriot public. The architect Tasos Andreou gives an enthusiastic quote from the local newspaper Alithia in his book:

“It is the only public work worthy of the name, which was built in Cyprus, with architectural harmony and with a rhythm consistent with the climate and the smiling environment of Cyprus. Because the other public buildings which the English made as a rule resemble prisons or vividly recall Scottish towers and gloomy houses, made of English snow and fog. We therefore sincerely congratulate Mr. Gaffiero and the Department of Public Works, who with this magnificent edifice redeems his former architectural sin and corrects artistic misspellings, before which any self-respecting Architect would commit suicide out of despair.

”This was our walk through the architectural ABC of Limassol along its two main streets. We explored the world’s key architectural styles of the 20th century — Art Deco, Neoclassicism, Modernism, Brutalism, Postmodernism. Now you might continue to explore the town by yourself or join one of my other routes on Sphere site.Please send me photos from your walks on Instagram @favole_di_cemento.

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