Our history through 9 thematic museums in Greece
+14 Our history through 9 thematic museums in Greece
A vision becomes reality for the preservation and promotion of our cultural identity by the Cultural Foundation of the Piraeus Bank Group. Contemporary museums are easily accessible, from Soufli to Tinos and from Ioannina to Sparta.
The Open-Air Water-Power Museum
It is dedicated to the importance of water power, presenting the preindustrial techniques that used water as their main source of energy in the production of goods. In picturesque Dimitsana (Peloponnese), surrounded by abundant streams, visitors can discover up close a complex of restored installations and water-powered mechanisms (fulling mill, flour mill, tannery, gunpowder mill).
Kefalari Ai-Yianni, Dimitsana, T: (+30) 27950 31630
The Silk Museum
It is in Soufli (Thrace), in the mansion formerly belonging to one of the town’s dignitaries, the doctor Konstantínos Kourtidis. The museum presents all the phases and stages of preindustrial sericulture and silk manufacturing. It also showcases the socio-economic context that transformed Soufli into a major silk-producing centre in Greece.
Eleftheriou Venizelou 73, Soufli, T: (+30) 25540 23700.
The Museum of Industrial Olive-Oil Production of Lesvos
A logical continuation of the Museum of the Olive and Greek Olive Oil, it is housed on the premises of the former communal olive press of Aghia Paraskevi, on Lesvos, and presents the industrial phase of olive-oil production in Greece. It focuses on the changes brought about by the introduction of mechanical motion to the process of olive-oil production and approaches the contribution of the region’s inhabitants to the production process with sensitivity.
Aghia Paraskevi, Lesvos, T: (+30) 22530 32300
The Museum of the Olive and Greek Olive Oil
It is in Sparta (Peloponnese) and takes visitors on a tour of the culture, history, and technology of the olive and the production of olive oil in Greece, from prehistoric times through to the early 20th century. The museum aims to highlight the ineffable relation of the olive to Greece’s identity and, more generally, the Mediterranean basin.
Othonos-Amalias 129, Sparta, T: (+30) 27310 89315
The Museum of Marble Crafts
The Museum of Marble Crafts in the Tinian village of Pirgos is unique of its kind and presents the technology of marble, a material that holds a particular place in the architecture and art of Greece, from ancient times through to the present. The permanent exhibition describes the intricate meshing of the tools and techniques used, with an emphasis on pre- and proto-industrial Tinos, the most important centre of marble crafts in Modern Greece. In parallel, it showcases the social and economic context from which the local workshops evolved in.
Pirgos, Panormos Tinou, T: (+30) 22830 31290
The Rooftile and Brickworks Museum N. & S. Tsalapatas
It is housed in the old Rooftile and Brickworks Factory of brothers Nikolaos and Spyridon Tsalapatas, in Volos (Thessaly). Visitors will discover everyday life in the factory, as well as all the production stages of different kinds of bricks and tiles. The museum’s aim is to highlight the historical identity of the town of Volos and to contribute to the preservation and promotion of its industrial heritage.
Tsalapata Complex-South Gate, Volos, T: (+30) 24210 29844
The Museum of the Environment of Stymphalia
It is situated on the slopes of one of the verdant hills surrounding Lake Stymphalia (Peloponnese). It aims to demonstrate the interdependence between mankind and Nature, focusing on their harmonious coexistence around the basin of Stymphalia. The museum also presents the region’s traditional technology.
Stymphalia, T: (+30) 27470 22296
The Chios Mastic Museum
It is located in the Mastichohória (literally: mastic villages), a group of medieval villages in Southern Chios, the only place in the Mediterranean where the mastic tree thrives. The Museum showcases the production history of the mastic tree’s cultivation and the processing of its resin, which it integrates into the cultural landscape of Chios. Through the prism of UNESCO’s inclusion of traditional mastic cultivation on its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2014, emphasis is given to the timelessness and sustainability of this product of Chios.
Pyrgi, Rachi site (Tepeki), Chios, T: (+30) 22710 72212
The Silversmithing Museum
It is both a thematic museum, as it concerns the technology of silversmithing during the preindustrial period, and a regional museum since it focuses essentially on the history of silverwork in the region of Epirus. It is housed in the Castle of Ioannina and more specifically in the western bastion of its south-eastern citadel (Its Kalé). Its goal is to preserve our knowledge of Epirote silversmithing, a craft that blossomed and flourished in the broader region.
Citadel of Its Kalé, Castle of Ioannina, T: (+30) 26510 64065
Our gratitude to the Cultural Foundation of the Piraeus Bank for the information and the images.
