| Santorini Culture & Tradition
: |
| Santorini
Churches & Religion |
| santorini churches, greek orthodox easter, religious
calendars and festivals, greek namedays, recipes ... |
| Museums in
Santorini |
| archaeological museum, prehistoric museum, megaro
gyzi museum, naval museum, george emmanuel argyros mansion,
lignos folklore museum ... |
| Exhibitions
in Santorini |
| petros m. nomikos conference center, thera wall
paintings, art space argyros canava exhibition, 'vanishing santorini'
exhibition ... |
| Santorini Archaeological
Sites |
| akrotiri excavations, ancient thira ... |
|
Santorini & The Aegean |
| photographic exhibition from the book 'Images
of an enchanted land' by Robert A. McCabe illustrating Santorini
between the years of 1954-1965, held at nomikos conference center
... |
|
Petros M. Nomikos Conference Center :
The Wall Paintings of Thera |
The Petros M. Nomikos Conference Center is located
in the capital of Santorini, Fira, overlooking the caldera
and the volcano. The conference center was inaugurated in
1989, with the 3rd International Archaeological Congress entitled
'Thera and the Aegean World', organized by the Thera Foundation.
The neoclassical mansion with characteristic red colouring
was restored for its specific use.
The Conference Center hosts a permanent exhibition of 'The
Wall Paintings of Thera' and is dedicated to realizing and
promoting social, cultural and scientific events to support
the island of Santorini and the excavations of Akrotiri. |
 |
| Architectural History &
Building Restoration |
A red coloured house, of
neoclassical architecture, a fine sample of what is
known as 'Ta Kokkina Spitia', meaning 'The Red Houses',
built around the turn of the century, had stood where
the Conference Center is today.
It was damaged irreparably by the 1956 earthquake and
had to be razed to the ground. It had belonged to a
prominent family of Santorini who had left the island.
The tunnels behind the Conference Hall were on the verge
of collapse. They constituted the family winery 'canava'
used for wine making and storage. The house was rebuilt
as a conference facility whilst maintaining the original
architecture and external features.
Demetrios Koustsoudakis, an architect by profession,
was serving in the Greek army in Santorini after the
earthquake in 1956. He had taken photographs and had
made plans of the ruined house and that permitted him
to design this facility. The superb ceiling of the main
conference hall was painted by iconographer Andreas
Avdellopoulos. The owner of the Conference Center, Mr.
Petros M. Nomikos personally bore all responsibility
and necessary expenses for the restoration. |
| Exploration work has been carried
out on the site of in Akrotiri since 1967. The wall paintings
discovered comprise the largest and best preserved artistic
assemblage from any period known to this day in the Aegean.
In technique, style and content they form an invaluable
field of study for archaeologists as well as art historians,
botanists, zoologists and many other scholars. In fact
they provide an immense wealth of information on the
art, economy, religion, environment and everyday life
of the first half of the second millennium BC
|
| With the intention of publicizing
the finds from prehistoric Thira on the broadest possible
basis, not only in Greece but also abroad, Mr. Peter M.
Nomikos sponsored the completion of the photographic reproductions
of the wall paintings of Thera, which he then donated
to the Thera Foundation - Petros M. Nomikos.
The complete set of reproductions was first presented
in Greece during the 1st International Symposium on
the Wall Paintings of Thera in 1997. Since then, the
exhibition has been open to the public each year, attracting
an important number of visitors.
The tunnels of the Petros M. Nomikos Conference Centre
have been providing a most suitable background for the
display of the reproductions. They are beautifully incorporated
in the setting, allowing the visitor to imagine how
the original frescoes would have been on the walls of
the prehistoric city of Akrotiri where they were discovered.
It is really a rare opportunity for any visitor, the
scholar, the tourist or the Santorini resident, to be
able to enjoy all frescoes so far discovered in Santorini,
their actual birthplace, together for the first time
since they were buried 3.500 years ago. |
| See
more : Akrotiri Excavations |
| See
more : Akrotiri Map |
| Fira Santorini 847 00 Greece |
| 'The Wall Paintings of Thera'
Exhibition is open daily during the summer from 10.00
- 20.00 |
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