The President of the Republic, Katerina Sakellaropoulou, sadly bids him farewell Peter Themeliswho passed away at the age of 87, highlighting his great contribution and pointing out that he was a great archaeologist, a solid scientist, a charismatic university teacher, as well as a passionate excavator, who highlighted Ancient Messina, one of the largest excavation and restoration projects of our land.

In particular, in her post on Facebook, Mrs. Sakellaropoulou states: “We say goodbye today with sadness to the great archaeologist, solid scientist, charismatic university teacher, passionate excavator, tireless researcher, the visionary Petros Themelis. He believed in the “socialization” of monuments and in this direction he worked, both for the restoration and promotion of Ancient Messina, one of the largest excavation and restoration projects in our country, as well as the promotion and protection of ancient theaters, as a founding member of of the association ‘Diazoma’.

A rare, pioneering spirit, a multidimensional person, “in the pit”, as he said, a secret interlocutor of stone and earth, he listened to the voice of the past and re-established, in the tame Messinian landscape, among the olive trees, an open museum. In Ancient Messina, he brought an entire city back to life and handed it over to the modern world as a model of an archaeological site that welcomes the visitor not only to tour, but also to experience. His offer was great”.