Extended visiting hours for museums and archaeological sites

Culture and Tourism Minister Pavlos Yeroulanos announced new extended visiting hoursof a number of museums and archeological sites in Greece on May 18.
The ministry said that the list will be further enriched in the future weeks, depending on the availability of staff.
The list includes some of the most popular sites and museums in Greece such as the Acropolis of Athens – Archaeological Site, which will be open from 8.00-19.00, all year round; the Thessaloniki Museum of Byzantine Culture; the Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki; the Archaeological Site of Philippi; the Archeological Museum and site of Mycenae; the Archeological Museum and site of Epidaurus; the Archaeological site of Mystras; the Archeological site and Museum of Afaia, Aegina; the Archeological Museum of Messenia; the Archeological site of Ancient Messene; the Catacombs on Milos island; the Herakleion Archeological Museum; the Archeological site of Knossos and the Spinalonga island on Crete.
The list also includes the Archaeological Museum of Drama; the Church of Panagia Kosmosoteira (Our Lady, Saviour of the World), in Ferres; the Grevena Archaeological Collection; the Museum of Asian Art, Corfu; the Archaeological Collection of Arta; the Byzantine Museum of Ioannina; the Ioannina Treasury; the Fortress of Ioannina; the Igoumenitsa Archaeological Museum; the Nekromanteion of Acheron; the Athanasakeion Archaeological Museum in Volos; the Archeological site of Nea Aghialos, Magnesia; the Byzantine Museum of Fthiotida at Ypati; the Monastery of Osios Loukas; the Corinth Archeological Museum.
Ministry of Culture & Tourism:  Brief Guides to Archaeological Museums in Greece Part I & Part II; YouTube: Culture in Greece [VIDEO] [Photo 3: The Nekromanteion of Acheron – Oracle of the Dead]
(GREEK NEWS AGENDA)

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Giorgio De Chirico Art Centre in Volos

(GREEK NEWS AGENDA) The Giorgio de Chirico Art Centre is located in the centre of the city of Volos, Greece’s third-largest port city, where the famous Italian painter was born in 1888.

The Art Centre, located on a pedestrian road next to the Municipal Conservatory, is housed in a new glass building that has been named after the Surrealist painter who was the founder of the “scuola metafisica” (metaphysical school) art movement.
The ground floor, mezzanine and second floors of the Art Centre, which was inaugurated in September 1990, house the Volos Municipal Art Collection.
The latter includes more than 400 paintings, sculptures, hagiographies, ceramics, mosaics and artistic photographs, as well as periodical exhibitions, and a small library.
The other two floors house the Alexander Damtsas Museum, a permanent exhibition of the Volos-born art aficionado’s collection comprising some 500 paintings and gravures by mostly Greek artists representing all the important art styles from the late 19th century to date.
Athens News Agency: The Giorgio de Chirico Art Centre, a cradle of culture in the heart of Volos

Argonauts Revived

(GREEK NEWS AGENDA)   A replica of the legendary ship “Argo” which, in ancient mythology carried Jason and his Argonauts in the quest of the Golden Fleece in Colchis, (now city of Poti, on Georgia’s Black Sea coast) reached Poti on June 19.  3,500 years after the first sail from ancient Iolkos (now city of Volos) -according to the myth-, the 50 modern Argonauts reached Georgia anew, this time not to recover the Golden Fleece but to convey messages of hope and peace in a region much troubled.  ‘Argo’ and the Greek delegation were received by President Mikheil Saakashvili.  The reception was followed by the inauguration of a new museum for the Argonaut expedition. An archaeological conference was also held in the city of Batumi.  The modern ‘Argo’ is a reconstruction of an ancient Greek ‘penteconter’ with a ram, a single tier of oarsmen, and a single sail made of half-cured wood cut from forest timber.  It belongs to the same family of Homer’s long ships and later ram-equipped warships of antiquity. The modern ‘Argo’ took over six years to complete, with the use of Bronze Age tools only.  

Greek Historic Train Coming Through

(GREEK NEWS AGENDA)  The legendary steam-train of Mt Pelion, in Magnesia prefecture, central Greece, known as “Moutzouris”  (meaning “smudgy”) has turned 106 years old. This train, and a second such train in Belgium, is the only one in the world running on a 60 cm-narrow gauge railway track. “Moutzouris” made its inaugural journey at the end of the 19th century and ran until 1971. In 1995 the train was put again in service, using the old steam engines, named “Milies” and “Jason” until they were replaced in 2000 by diesel-powered engines for faster and safer journeys. You Tube – Pelion Train

A floating “Green” Restaurant in Greece

(GREEK NEWS AGENDA)   An Olympic city with many attractions and strong commercial foundations as a port, Volos is an ideal place for the first floating eco-friendly restaurant designed and constructed in Greek shipyards.  The new, floating, “green island” will be transferred to its permanent home in the summer. It will have naturally grown lawn, photovoltaic systems to cover its energy needs, and waste will be biologically cleaned.  More importantly, the materials used in its construction, as well as any other expendable supplies used during its operation, are eco- friendly. The artificial island will welcome its visitors on board in August.  Volos: Host of 2013 Mediterranean Games ; Agrotravel.gr: Volos