Samos is preparing to host a landmark museum that connects history with modern knowledge, shipbuilding tradition with innovation, and culture with the development of the local community.
The Aegean Museum of Naval Architecture and Nautical Arts, a unique project in Greece, highlights the historical and cultural relationship of the island with the sea. The official presentation of the project took place yesterday, Monday, October 13, at the town hall of Eastern Samos, in the presence of the mayor, Paris Papageorgiou.
The mayor of Eastern Samos spoke of “a unique museum, just before the inauguration and the start of the School of Wooden Shipbuilding”, highlighting the long and demanding path of the project. As he mentioned, its first phase was included in the Operational Program “Competitiveness and Entrepreneurship” of the period 2007–2013, with expenditures of 3.68 million euros, while the second phase proceeded through the OP “Competitiveness, Entrepreneurship and Innovation” 2014–2020, with a budget of 4.38 million euros. In total, the investment reaches 8 million euros, including 27 sub-projects that extend from infrastructure to equipment and curation of exhibits.
As the mayor emphasized, the museum is already fully equipped with modern presentation media and digital applications, while it hosts important vessels-monuments of Greek shipbuilding history, such as the “Metamorfosis”, “Agios Dimitrios”, “Evangelistria” and “Minavra”. At the same time, it has a collection of traditional shipbuilding tools and shipbuilding plans, evidence of an art that was the soul of the Aegean islands.
Referring to the operation of the museum, Mr. Papageorgiou underlined that a programmatic agreement is being prepared with the Ministry of Culture, while a corresponding cooperation will be established with the Ministry of Shipping and Island Policy. As he explained, the vessels should remain at sea for six months a year, as they are “living organisms” that require constant care.
“The museum is not only a cultural pole. It will generate income, but above all it will leave a strong imprint on the local community, in the preservation of tradition and in the promotion of shipbuilding art,” he noted.
