Ancient Trikki, the “Asclepius of Trikala”, is highlighted and restored by the Ministry of Culture and Sports, in collaboration with the Region of Thessaly.

As informed by a relevant announcement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the studies of fixing, restoring and highlighting the archaeological site, the hydraulic study of rainwater management, the studies of highlighting lighting, the preservation of the antiquities’ structural materials, the static adequacy of the existing roof, received a positive opinion of the Central Archaeological Council.

According to the Ministry of the Interior, the interventions concern maintenance, protection, morphological and structural restoration of the monument, as well as interventions for protection, promotion, functional integration of the monument into the urban fabric and its performance in society. The interventions include the design of entrances and visitor routes, the housing of sensitive remains, the drainage of the space in combination with the formation of levels and surfaces, within the ancient buildings, the design of information elements for visitors, but also the lighting for highlighting and visiting the space.

As for the operations, at the junction of St. Sarafi and Ag. Nikolaou, where the entrance to the archaeological site is located, with the descent ramp, as well as parallel to St. Sarafi, a standing and viewing platform is formed, flush with the pavement. In order to better integrate the archaeological site into the urban planning fabric, in addition to the interventions for movement and parking in its perimeter, the integration of the main archaeological site with the adjacent excavation trench to the east, on the Nicotsara-Nelson road, is planned.

“In the city of Trikala, in ancient Trikki, there was one of the oldest and most famous, in the entire ancient world, Asklepieia. Parts of ancient Trikki have been revealed, as early as the end of the 19th century, through rescue excavations carried out by the competent Ephorate of Antiquities, as the modern city of Trikala has been built on the same site. The habitation of the space is uninterrupted. With the approved interventions, the Ministry of Culture and Sports, through its competent services, within the framework of our program for the development of cities, with a focus on cultural resources, protects the uncovered antiquities by highlighting, within the urban fabric, the past of Trikala, in a way that can be read by the resident and the visitor of the city. With the highlighting of the antiquities, the inclusion of the Asklepiion in the “Network of the Asklepiones of the Mediterranean”, and the creation of the Timeless Museum, in the facilities of P. TAXYP, the city of Trikala acquires an important comparative advantage of development, intertwined with the stimulation of entrepreneurship and employment”, said the Minister of Culture and Sports Lina Mendoni.

The archaeological site of ancient Trikki, known as “Asclepius of Trikala”, is located in the center of the modern city of Trikala, at a distance of about 150 m from the central square. It preserves architectural remains, from the late Hellenistic to the mid-Byzantine period, constituting visible evidence of its centuries-old history. The architectural remains examined concern a building and a portico, which date back to late Hellenistic times, a bath dating back to early Roman times, the remains of a mid-Byzantine temple, as well as the remains of a Byzantine pottery kiln.