Dying Achilles!
CORFU. A sad impression has been created for visitors to the island΄s most popular landmark by scaffolding and construction materials that have been abandoned by the contractor whose contract was ended, for reasons unknown, by mutual agreement!
The restoration of the Achilleion Palace reminds one of that old television commercial for Tennessee bourbon (1995)! The producers, waiting for years for it to mature, kill time by using corks as targets on a large barrel. In our case, however, the barrel has tipped over and spilled the milk—or the bourbon if you prefer—while we have now resigned ourselves to the wretched situation!
We're talking about the Achilleion Palace restoration contract, which was abruptly halted, and no one knows who is at fault. In the meantime, the contractor, who apparently left in a hurry, abandoned the scaffolding and materials while the entire place was being cemented, and the famous paved area with the Muses was lost!
Yet another visitor was horrified by the condition of the island’s well-known attraction. He visited the Achilleion Palace to be met by the sight of the remnants of the abandoned contract everywhere! And he was saddened, angered, and wrote to every responsible party. He reached out to the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Tourism, the Central Corfu Municipality, the Achilleion Palace itself, the company managing it, the Panhellenic Association of Architects, the Association of Greek Archaeologists, and the Greek National Tourism Organization (GNTO).
The Complaint
"I am reaching out to express my strong dissatisfaction both with the significant delay in the restoration work on the Achilleion Palace and with the shoddy workmanship and complete disregard, with cementing of the courtyard areas instead of restoring them with stones as should have been done, as any conscientious and competent supervising architect would have indicated. After the cementing of the Acropolis, it seems there is now a "trend of devaluing restoration of monuments by replacing stone and marble with cement and leaving scaffolding abandoned." Such poor craftsmanship is something we wouldn't even allow private individuals to do in our own homes, and the sight is truly shameful.
Additionally, the ticket price for access to the palace courtyard, without even a complete effort to highlight and care for the surrounding gardens as should be the case, does not justify the cost and left us disappointed. Do we have to travel all the way to Austria to see well-kept gardens?"
Abandoned construction materials around the main building of the palace/museum.
We also learned when we asked that as employees leave, they are not being replaced. This suggests a deliberate intent to devalue this monument rather than further highlight and properly maintain it. Is there some plan for private exploitation of the palace, with plans for other monuments in the country as well, hence the intended neglect? After the privatised beaches, are the monuments next? The recent scandal that came to light at the Ministry of Culture, involving the imprisoned corrupt official who signed contracts worth enormous amounts, is indicative of the situation.
No conscientious person working in the involved agencies, nor those of us who are active citizens of this country, should remain passive spectators to the long-term plan of deliberate, chronic, and systematic devaluation of the country’s monuments for the purpose of private exploitation.
The number of visitors to the Achilleion Palace remains impressively high, despite the current state of affairs
We contacted the Director of the Museum, Ms. Maleskou, who responded to our reasonable question by saying that she does not know how or why the contract was terminated. She mentioned that a tender process is underway to select a new consultant who will update the restoration study so that the project can be reconsidered, and a new funding mechanism can be found to restart the works from the beginning.
In the meantime, the Achilleion Palace continues to attract visitors, who are limited to the gardens and only pay half the ticket price, while we, here in Tennessee, are tossing corks into a barrel, and the authorities are flying kites...
The name of the letter writer is known to the newspaper.
GIORGOS KATSAITIS
Photos: Enimerosi
