From the headquarters of the Region of Crete, the Minister of Culture Lina Mendoni began her three-day visit to Heraklion and Lasithi, head of a multi-member echelon of the Ministry of Culture.
The Minister was welcomed by the Regional Governor Stavros Arnautakis and then they held a meeting with the participation of their close colleagues. The topic of the meeting was the development of the Ministry’s projects throughout Crete.
Immediately afterwards, answering a journalist’s question about what the main project could be the focus of his visit these days, Lina Mendoni said:
“All are important, all are equally interesting and all have, perhaps each of them, their own impression, so we will not separate and Dikteo Andros is very important and the Minoan Palaces, they are very important, so there many things. We will see the walls tomorrow with the District Governor and the Mayor, we will do a lot.”
The Minister then discussed the Seminar Cultural Heritage School 3 related to climate change and its effects on cultural heritage and to be held at the Archaeological Museum of Heraklion which highlights:
“Tomorrow morning will begin the seminar organized by the Ministry of Culture with the American Embassy in Athens, the Greek section of ICOM and the close cooperation of the State Department in dealing with climate change and its effects on the monument. This is why we work closely with the National Research Foundation and the National Kapodistrian University. The seminar combines international experience because not only Greeks participate, they also participate from other countries, from Turkey. , Malta, Jordan. The purpose is to exchange knowledge and experience to deal with the effects that the climate change and extreme weather events to create and produce cultural heritage. It takes place in the Archaeological Museum of Heraklion. Look, climate change is here. It’s here, we all live it. The key to dealing with it is prevention. The second one that is equally important is the international collaboration, this is the international experience, which must be assimilated by everyone and for this reason the seminar that we are holding in Heraklion this time is very important, we have also done a similar in 2023 with the same partners in Thessaloniki.”
In a question about Knossos and the serial registration of Minoan Palaces on the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage list, the Minister emphasized that “the Ministry has filed the file for the serial registration of the Minoan Palaces. It is clear that the largest, or the best known if you like, of the palaces is Knossos. The surrounding area , regardless of UNESCO, is not the one that deserves a monument of the beauty and great importance of Knossos”.
Finally, about Parthenon sculpturesto a question about whether there is any current development after Turkey’s announcement that there is no firman and about what the Greek government will do, the Minister highlighted:
“These are not issues that develop day by day. The representative of Turkey confirmed what, at least HellasTHE Ministry of Culture and I’ve been speaking personally since 2000. We know it doesn’t exist sign, it is given for us. So here comes Turkey, with knowledge, it is logical that it has knowledge, to prove that there is no such firman. The Greek government has a systematic program, it is active and cautious already in 2019 and on the subject of the reunification of Sculptors of the Parthenon has achieved the most in the last 50 years, or at least since 1982, when the subject was first raised by Melina Merkouri.»