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Speaking Friday evening in Nafpaktos, Mendoni said the ministry has followed a comprehensive strategic plan covering the entire country and described the current programme as the largest cultural infrastructure effort ever undertaken over a comparable period.<\/p>\n
She spoke at an event marking the completion of conservation, restoration, structural reinforcement and enhancement works at Nafpaktos\u2019 Venetian port. The Ephorate of Antiquities of Aetolia-Acarnania and Lefkada and the Directorate for the Restoration of Byzantine and Post-Byzantine Monuments carried out the project.<\/p>\n
Mendoni credited both national funding and the Recovery and Resilience Facility with enabling the ministry to complete numerous projects.<\/p>\n
\u201cSince 2019, all interventions by the Ministry of Culture have followed a comprehensive strategic plan concerning our entire country,\u201d Mendoni said.<\/p>\n
She added that the ministry has been able to advance major projects through its own resources as well as the significant European funding secured for Greece by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.<\/p>\n
Nafpaktos a priority for cultural heritage<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n Mendoni said Nafpaktos had to rank among the ministry\u2019s priorities because of its extensive historical and archaeological heritage.<\/p>\n She particularly praised Olympia Vikatou, the current Secretary General of the Ministry of Culture, who previously served at the Ephorate of Antiquities of Aetolia-Acarnania and Lefkada.<\/p>\n According to Mendoni, Vikatou helped establish the conditions that allowed projects and studies in the region to reach maturity and move forward.<\/p>\n The minister said the ministry\u2019s fundamental responsibility remains the protection, restoration and enhancement of Greece\u2019s monuments. At the same time, she stressed the importance of returning restored monuments to local communities as living parts of their identity and as centres for development.<\/p>\n \u201cCultural heritage is a key driver of the development of local communities,\u201d Mendoni said, arguing that the state has an obligation to protect these sites and invest in restoring their monumental and cultural wealth.<\/p>\n Venetian port restored for residents and visitors<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n Mendoni placed particular emphasis on the importance of Nafpaktos and its Venetian port, which she said enjoys recognition well beyond Greece because of the city\u2019s decisive role at various points in Greek history.<\/p>\n She said the port therefore needed to undergo a comprehensive restoration and return safely to the local community, both for residents and for the growing number of visitors to Nafpaktos.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd that is what we did,\u201d Mendoni said, explaining that the project formed part of a wider development plan for Nafpaktos and the wider Aetolia-Acarnania region.<\/p>\n The minister also thanked ministry officials for their dedication, expertise and commitment to preserving Greece\u2019s cultural heritage.<\/p>\n She thanked Western Greece Governor Nektarios Farmakis for his cooperation in making effective use of available cultural funding, as well as Nafpaktia Mayor Vasilis Gkizas, whom she credited with consistently pushing for action from the central government on behalf of the local community.<\/p>\n The event concluded with a concert by the ERT Symphony Orchestra at the Venetian port.<\/p>\n