Santorini island Greece, exhibition Thera Wall Paintings
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Exhibitions / Thera Wall Paintings


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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...



an explanation
Although known throughout the modern day world as Santorini, the island's official name is Thira, also written as Thera.
Please note that there may be an admission fee to visit the exhibitions.

Petros M. Nomikos Conference Center :
The Wall Paintings of Thera
Thera Wall Paintings in Santorini and Akrotiri Excavations

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
Irreparable Damage after the 1956 Earthquake

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.


Akrotiri Excavations
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


The Exhibition of the Wall Painting Reproductions
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

Petros M. Nomikos Center
Fira Santorini 847 00 Greece
'The Wall Paintings of Thera' Exhibition is open daily during the summer from 10.00 - 20.00
Tel : +30 22860 23016 - 7
Fax : +30 22860 23020

Petros M. Nomikos Conference Center

The Wall Paintings of Thera

The Wall Paintings of Thera

The Wall Paintings of Thera


 
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