ATHENS, Greece — ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Strolling alongside the broad pedestrian road that runs alongside the bottom of Athens’ famed Acropolis Hill, guests can now get pleasure from one thing not seen in many years: an unobstructed, scaffolding-free view of the Parthenon temple.
The scaffolding arrange alongside the fifth century B.C. temple’s western façade for conservation work about 20 years in the past has been eliminated, permitting an uncluttered view of the UNESCO World Heritage website.
The western facet of the Parthenon affords the perfect street-level view, so the elimination from that facet, which was accomplished in late September, has been probably the most noticeable for guests. However Tradition Minister Lina Mendoni famous it additionally marks the primary time in about 200 years that the Parthenon’s exterior is totally freed from any sort of scaffolding on any facet.
For guests, “it’s like they’re seeing a special, a totally completely different monument,” Mendoni mentioned throughout an interview on Skai radio Friday.
Nonetheless, conservation work should proceed, and the respite will likely be short-term. New scaffolding is to be erected alongside the Parthenon’s western facet in about one month’s time, however it is going to be “lighter and aesthetically a lot nearer to the logic of the monument,” Mendoni mentioned.
The renewed conservation work is anticipated to final till early summer time in 2026. Then, the minister mentioned, “the Parthenon will likely be utterly freed of this scaffolding too, and other people will be capable of see it really free.”
The Acropolis is by far Greece’s hottest vacationer website, with 4.5 million folks visiting in 2024, in accordance with the nation’s statistical authority. The marble temple was constructed within the mid fifth century B.C. to honor the town’s patron goddess, Athena.
