They overcome them 150 million euros the resources available or will be available within the next 18 months for the culture of Thessaloniki, emphasized today the Minister of Culture Lina Mendoni speaking at the two-day conference on “The Project of the Services of the Ministry of Culture in Thessaloniki during the three years 2022-2024”.

The two-day conference that takes place today (Friday) and tomorrow (Saturday) in the auditorium of the Museum of the Ancient Agora of Thessaloniki is organized by Ephorate of Antiquities of the City of Thessaloniki with the participation of the Ephorate of Antiquities of the Thessaloniki Region and the Service of Newer Monuments and Technical Projects of Central Macedonia and 36 announcements are presented that highlight the work carried out during the three years 2022-2024 in the fields of restoration and conservation of ancient, Byzantine and newer monuments, rescue excavations, exhibitions and educational programs, as well as excavations carried out in the context of public projects, including the Thessaloniki metro and the establishment of new museum spaces for the exhibition of his findings.

“This project, for obvious reasons, has been overshadowed in communication by the highlighting of the antiquities that came to light during the implementation of the metro and the establishment of the new museum spaces for the exhibition of its findings“, noted Lina Mendoni, however she underlined that “it is part of the wider coherent and integrated planning of the Ministry of Culture with the aim of making the entire cultural stock of Thessaloniki and Central Macedonia a driving force for the development of progress and prosperity for the social system”.

According to her, within the framework of the Recovery Fund, 35 projects with a total budget of 54 million euros are being implemented in the Region of Central Macedonia. Of these, the 24 projects concern the municipality of Thessaloniki and have a total budget of almost 44 million euros. Among them, is the highlighting of the monumental wealth and the surrounding area of ​​the Rotunda, the conservation of the Palaeologian frescoes in the Churches of Saint Catherine, Saint Nicholas the Orphan and the Prophet Elias, as well as the works in Achieropoiitos, Panagia Chalkeon, Saint Sofia and in the archaeological site of the northern entrance of the Hagia Sophia metro station, as well as the restoration of the Ottoman Bey Hammam monuments and the Hamza Bey mosque (Alcazar).

In fact, the projects of the Recovery Fund that end at the end of 2025, have already progressed in their planning and integration with co-financing from the NSRF 2021-2027. “A particularly characteristic and important new project that is to be included in the PEP of Central Macedonia in the NSRF 2021-2027, is the one concerning the establishment of the Museum of Refugee Hellenism, in the former Pavlos Melas camp. With this project, the formation of the metropolitan park of Pavlos Melas will proceed further, with which in fact the whole of western Thessaloniki will be revitalized“, he characteristically said.

He also mentioned that within the framework of the NSRF 2021-2027, nine invitations with a total budget of 42.5 million euros have already been issued, of which four, with a budget of 33 million euros, concern completely new projects. “Until today at the PEP K. of Macedonia, 18 projects with a total budget of 24 million euros have been included, of which 13 projects (with a budget of 14 million euros) relate to cultural heritage and five projects (10 million euros) to modern culture“, while he emphasized that the total value of the completed projects and actions in the culture of Thessaloniki to date amounts to 27.5 million euros.

The work of the services of the YPPO in Thessaloniki during the three years 2022-24 – Thoughts for an urban archaeological park

The representatives of the three services of the Ministry of Culture in Thessaloniki mentioned the most important points of the project that they implemented in the last three years. “Among our restoration projects, the ones that have been carried out within the framework of the NSRF stand out in particular, which are emblematic monuments such as Agios Andreas in Peristera, the Church of the Transfiguration of the Savior in Hortiatis and building D, a building of Macedonian architecture which was restored and in which there is now an exhibition about Hortiatis in all his time periods”, said the director of the Ephorate of Antiquities of the Thessaloniki Region, Mariza Tsiapali. “Our two projects are the A3 barracks in the metropolitan park of the municipality of Pavlos Melas, which will be turned into a museum of subway finds, and the State Conservatory of Thessaloniki, where maintenance and restoration work is being carried out, with modern technologies so that there is proper acoustics with the aim of restoring of the building in its original form“, noted the head of the Service for New Monuments and Technical Projects of Central Macedonia, Sofia Christoforidou, saying that both are on schedule, so they will be completed by the end of 2025.

Among the projects carried out by the Ephorate of Antiquities of the City of Thessaloniki, which strengthen and highlight the Byzantine face of Thessaloniki, its deputy head, Bettina Tsigarida, commented, saying that “when these are completed, a large urban archaeological park could potentially be created». This proposal was agreed by the mayor of Thessaloniki, Stelios Angeloudis, who addressed the event. “Let’s start thinking about the planning and creation of an archaeological park in the heart of the city, in our historical center, on the Rotunda – Dimitriou Gounari axis, the Aristotelous axis, and their interconnection with the dozens of monuments“, said Mr. Angeloudis, clarifying that this is “the beginning of a conversation whose data is now being set in motion”, as it will have to mature in terms of studies, provide for pedestrians, etc.

The museums that will host metro finds

The Minister of Culture also referred to the two museums where the antiquities discovered during the subway work will be housed. “The first museum is the one that will be installed in the A3 barracks building of the former Pavlos Melas camp. It will host mobile antiquities inside and in its courtyard some of the monuments that were detached and could not be repositioned by various excavations, such as the remains of the mansion that was excavated in the area of ​​the Agia Sophia station”.

The second is the museum that is being created in the existing metro building, at the Sidrivani station within the campus (crossover), which has an area of ​​6,000 sq.m. and is intended to function as a museum exhibition and storage area for the detached antiquities and for a small part of the movable findings of the subway excavations, which will “narrate” the building history and urban development of the city over 23 centuries. “It is an absolutely ground-breaking and innovative concept of the museum, the tender issues are being finalized in the next few weeks and from there we will secure the appropriate financing tool to see how we proceed“, concluded Ms. Mendoni.