In strengthening the marble technical tradition of Tinos, the Ministry of Culture and Sportswith the expansion and upgrade of the Preparatory and Vocational School of Fine Arts of Panormos Tinos, known as the School of Marble Crafts of Tinos and the upgrade of the house of Giannoulis Halepas, including the project in the Recovery Fund, with a budget of 13,512,786 euros and a completion time of the end of 2025. The procedures for the project of upgrading both the School and the Halepa house began in July 2021, with the visit of the Minister of Culture and Sports Lina Mendoni to Tinos.

As Lina Mendoni stated, “Tinos has a great tradition in the field of marble crafting, which is a registered element of Intangible Cultural Heritage in the National Index of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Greece (2013) and in the Representative List of UNESCO (2015). Countless artisans have created excellent works, but at the same time they have contributed to shaping and maintaining the special character of Tinos. Creators with a distinct artistic vision were brought up on the island, the most important being Giannoulis Halepas, a leading representative of the latest Greek and European sculptural art. The creation of the new facilities of the Preparatory and Professional School of Fine Arts gives a new, modern, international dynamic to the School and contributes catalytically to the training of young marble sculptors, whom the Ministry of Culture and Sports wants to utilize – even more than today – in projects which performs on monuments. At the same time, the restoration of the Halepa House and the visitable museum space, which houses personal items, sculptures and drawings of the great Tinian sculptor, highlights the authenticity and historicity of the house through the proper display of its exhibits and mobile equipment, honoring the work and the importance of the great sculptor. Our goal is to enhance the promotion of the work of Halepas, to create conditions for the proper and upgraded education of the young people of the island – and not only – who have the inclination, the will and the interest to deal with the art of marble, but also the development potential that such an investment can give to the island”.

More specifically, the project includes:

  • The upgrading and modernization of the Preparatory and Vocational School of Fine Arts Panormos Tinos. The implementing agency of the project, with the purpose of building the extension of the building facilities, the modernization of the existing buildings and the shaping of the surrounding area of ​​the Preparatory and Vocational School of Fine Arts of Panormos Tinos, is the Department of Studies and Implementation of Museums and Cultural Buildings Projects of the Ministry of Education and Culture. The new building complex will include workshops for the processing of large volumes of marble, a cutting room, a smithy – foundry, a carpentry workshop, a casting workshop, warehouses, sculpture and architectural design workshops, administrative offices, a library, sanitary facilities.
  • The restoration, maintenance and arrangement as a museum space of the House of Giannoulis Halepas in Tinos, implemented by the Service of New Monuments and Technical Projects of Attica, Eastern Greece and the Cyclades of the Ministry of the Interior.
  • The supply of tools, laboratory equipment and materials of the Preparatory and Vocational School of Fine Arts of Panormos Tinos, which are necessary for the operation of the School.

The Aleppo Museum

The Preparatory and Vocational School of Fine Arts of Panormos Tinos has been operating since 1955 in the building of the former Primary School of Thileon Pyrgos, which was erected in 1832 and is one of the first school buildings built during the Ottonian Regency. The house of Giannoulis Halepas, which houses the Giannoulis Halepas Museum, is located in the Tower of Tinos and is classified as a historical monument. The Museum is managed by the Spiritual Center of Panormos “Giannoulis Halepas”, which operates as a Legal Entity of the Municipality of Tinos. The implementation of both projects is the subject of a Cultural Development Program Agreement between the Ministry of Culture and Sports, the South Aegean Region, the Municipality of Tinos and the Preparatory and Vocational School of Fine Arts of Panormos Tinos.