Lina Mendoni performed an autopsy in the Bourtzi of Nafplion, which was restored by the Ministry of Culture and is reopening after decades, as informed by today’s announcement of the Ministry of Culture.

Burzi, with all the fortified architectural features of its time, was built in the period of the First Venetian Empire (1471-1477), by the renowned Renaissance architect Antonio Gambello, under the direction of Vittore Pasqualigo.

The restoration of the fortress complex, which was included in 2014, by the Ministry of Culture, in the E.P. Competitiveness-Entrepreneurship-Innovation of the NSRF 2014-2020, included extensive maintenance and restoration of all the original parts of the fortress. All functional parts inside and outside the fortress were repaired and reconstructed: Floors, walls, stairs, frames, railings, coloring, accent lighting. All water supply, sewage, electrical installations, heating, cooling and telecommunication networks were radically renovated.

Referring to the reopening of the Bourtzi fortress, the Minister of Culture Lina Mendoni said: “It is a great satisfaction for the family of the Ministry of Culture, the restoration and return of the island to the public.

The monument is a landmark for Nafplio, inextricably linked to the collective memory of the residents, but also to the most recent historical period of the Greek Nation. After decades of silence and desolation, Bourji perfectly restored, with functional use, is given to the public and its visitors.

The project, with a total budget of 2,785,000 Euros, and implementing bodies the Ephorate of Antiquities of Argolis and the Directorate of Studies and Execution of Museums and Cultural Buildings Projects, was restored in an exemplary manner.

A small exhibition space and shop has been created in the bastions.

The old use of the dining area was preserved, while auxiliary uses were reconstructed in the northern sector and the unhindered access of the disabled and generally disabled people was ensured, with the construction of an elevator that allows access to the first level of the Fortress. Inside the south tower, its layout was preserved, its furniture was restored, as a memory of the fortress’s former use as a hotel.

Thanks to the memorandum of cooperation we signed with the Public Real Estate Company, we are giving the citizens of Nafplion and the thousands of visitors to the city an emblematic monument.”

In 1922 the fort was declared a prominent monument. In 1949 it was classified as a Tourist Public Estate, with N.W. Its administration and management was entrusted to EOT. Today it has been transferred to the State Real Estate Company.

The works started in 2014 and were interrupted in 2017. They restarted in 2019 and were completed in 2022. The Minister of Culture Lina Mendoni was accompanied by the Director of Antiquities of Argolis Alkistis Papadimitriou, officials of the Ephorate of Antiquities of Argolis, the Deputy Portmaster of Nafplion Yiannis Moustakopoulos and Anargyros Tsouts on her behalf ETAD SA.