[6] The date cited for the laying of the foundation stone is 1209, and the Latin archbishop of Nicosia responsible for this is named in various sources as Thierry[7] or Albert.

[6] There are claims of evidence indicating an earlier beginning date,[8] and even the Knights Templar may have made some effort for the construction of a new cathedral during their rule in 1191–92.

[7] Although it is held in some sources that the arrival of Louis IX of France in Cyprus in 1248 for the Seventh Crusade gave a boost to the construction,[9] there is no evidence to support this claim.

[10] Archbishop Giovanni del Conte, oversaw the completion of the nave and the narthex until 1319[8] and that of the middle aisle, the buttresses of the chevet, the façade and a chapel/baptistery from 1319 to 1326.

The bull gave a 100-day period of indulgence for those who participated in the completion of the cathedral,[13] however, this effort did not achieve its aim.

[15] The Venetian Senate ordered the repair of the damage and set up a special commission, which taxed an annual contribution of 250 ducats from the archbishop.

The repair was very extensive and thorough; in 1507, Pierre Mésenge wrote that despite the fact that the building was "totally demolished" 20 or 22 years ago, it then looked very beautiful.

When the city fell on 9 September, Francesco Contarini, the bishop of Paphos, delivered the last Christian sermon in the building, in which he asked for divine help and exhorted the people.

They smashed or threw out Christian items, such as furniture and ornaments in the cathedral[4] and destroyed the choir as well as the nave.

The foundation employed trustees (mütevelli) to look after the funds and transferred 40,000 akçe annually to Medina in late 16th century.

The gate was an enlargement of a pre-existing Lusignan window on the site, and pieces of marble and other material from the surroundings were used in its construction.

The decorations of the gate include an inscription by calligrapher Es-Seyyid Ahmet Şukri Efendi, the calligraphy teacher of the local high school.

The inscription consists of a praise of the sultan and mentions that the gate was built on Abdülaziz's orders by Nazif Pasha.

The north and south entrances had initially been in the fourth bay of the nave, although the Ottoman-built Aziziye Gate is at the eastern end of the cathedral.