from the archaeological collection in the Museum and from the Museum to the ‘Islet of Museums, Castle of Chora, Naxos’
The creation of the Archaeological Museum of Naxos
The first archaeological collection on Naxos was established in Naxos in 1899, comprising some 20 ancient objects, collected carefully by Hiller von Gaetringen. The collection was enriched in the following years with the finds of the excavations of Klonos Stefanos and was housed in the Neoclassical building of the old primary school in Grotta. Its next home – the hall of the new building that was the city’s high school, on today’s Papavasiliou Street (fig. 1) – was acquired in 1931 and was used as a museum space from 1933.
In 1943 during World War II, the majority of the antiquities were transferred, for security reasons, to the building of the French Ursuline School, at the top of the Castle of Chora. Smaller quantities were hidden in churches. Large and heavy objects, such as marble architectural members and sculptures, were buried in the courtyard of the high school. However, this did not save them from vandalism by the Italian troops who had occupied the building in the meantime. Nor did the antiquities transferred to the French School fare any better: almost all were destroyed in 1944 by the Germans, as the 1946 publication of the then Ministry of Religious Affairs and National Education ‘Damage to Antiquities Caused by the War and the Occupation Armies’ informs us (fig. 2). At the end of the war, what had been managed to be saved was reassembled and re-exhibited in the hall of the high school building in Chora.
The archaeological collection of Naxos grew from 1949, thanks to the systematic excavations of the Archaeological Society in Chora of Naxos. From 1961, it acquired other remarkable finds from the rescue excavations of the Archaeological Service in the Naxian countryside, at Keros, Koufonissi and Donoussa. A first arrangement, still in the high school hall, was attempted in 1961, but the constant arrival of new material soon turned the space into a warehouse and workshop, so that relocation to an independent and larger building became imperative.
Thus, two years later the Archaeological Museum of Naxos was housed anew in part of a multi-storey building along the route of the Frankish wall, the original core of which dates back to the 13th century and includes two of the towers of the Castle. One such is the Kasatza Chapel of square shape. In the 17th century, a school for the education of children, founded in the Castle by the Jesuit monks, was initially based in the Chapel. Later it expanded to include all areas of the building complex now occupied by the Archaeological Museum. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Museum building was used for the Commercial School, where N. Kazantzakis also studied (fig. 3).
This historic building-monument at the top of the Castle was established as an Archaeological Museum (fig. 3a, exterior of the museum) in the current sense of the term (that is, as an organized institution where antiquities are kept, preserved, studied and exhibited to the public). This was achieved by the late Nikolaos Zapheiropoulos, then Superintendent of Antiquities of the Cyclades. By 1972, with meagre resources but armed with knowledge and inspiration, he had organized the exhibition and storage spaces.
Nikolaos Zapheiropoulos’ successor at the Ephorate, and currently Honorary Superintendent of Antiquities, Dr. Fotini Zaphiropoulou continued his work. She completed the museum’s exhibition in 1994, presented in the spirit of that era, showcasing to the general public one of the most important collections of antiquities at both the national and international levels. It possesses stand-out pieces for the history and art of Naxos and the Lesser Cyclades (Schinoussa, Donoussa, Koufonisia, Keros-Daskaleio, Iraklia): these illuminate the prehistory – from the Neolithic period – and the history – up to the Late Roman / Early Byzantine period – not only of the aforementioned islands, but also of the wider Aegean region (fig. 4 and fig. 4a in the interior of the museum). Particular emphasis was given to the Early Cycladic collection, with its exceptional pieces, recovered in excavation. Many are unique, making it the second most important collection of such in the world, after the equivalent one in the National Archaeological Museum (fig. 5, Cycladic figurine).
The ‘Islet of Museums of the Castle of Chora, Naxos’
In recent years, the Ephorate of Antiquities of the Cyclades has been implementing the radical upgrade of the Archaeological Museum, undertaken within the framework of the ‘Islet of Museums of the Castle of Chora, Naxos’ project integrated within ESPA. Its main objective is to promote the monumental holdings of Naxos, creating an island of Museums in the medieval Castle of Chora.
In three medieval buildings – remains of the medieval complex (the Promona mansion/Air Force building, the Archaeological Museum building and the Crispi tower) – a single permanent exhibition of a thematic nature will be organized from scratch. The Museum will display the culture of Naxos and the Lesser Cyclades down the years. In the cutting-edge exhibition spaces, inspired by a modern museological approach, visitors will be able to enjoy creations of the culture of Naxos and the Lesser Cyclades that will reveal the historical journey made by the islands from the depths of prehistory to almost the present day. Each building will house a thematic unit. In all three museum spaces, material that has never before seen the light of day – be they from excavations insufficiently studied or still under careful scrutiny – will be presented to the public for the first time.
First comes the Early Cycladic Collection, drawn from that of the present Archaeological Museum, presented under the theme ‘Cycladic Culture’: it will be housed in the Air Force building. An essential feature of the Museum of Cycladic Culture is hinted at in its name, stressing the cultural aspect over the merely artistic. It will be literally the first museum in the world where all the antiquities on display are of known origin (Naxos and the Lesser Cyclades), being recovered from secure excavation environments. The intention of the Ephorate is for it to become a pioneering scientific-research and cultural centre of international renown and influence.
Second, the current Archaeological Museum will be renovated: its theme will narrate the history of Naxos and the Lesser Cyclades from the Palaeolithic times to Late Antiquity. Thus, it will be transformed into a centre for the dissemination of a wealth of information and interpretations, into a cultural space, which will firm up a critical view of the past, will allow a dialectical relationship with the present and the future and will yield knowledge, reflection, aesthetic enjoyment and entertainment to its audience.
The third thematic museum will showcase the cultural products produced by Naxos as a key artistic centre of the Byzantine-controlled archipelago. It aims to establish itself as a pan-Cycladic and inter-Cycladic Byzantine research centre, open to the public. It will conduct research and disseminate its concerns and findings on Public and Private life in the Middle Ages and on Byzantine Naxos, becoming a regional artistic centre in the Aegean.
The completion of the ‘Islets’ project will justify the labours and efforts of all those who worked to bring the Archaeological Museum of Naxos to its current state and location. Furthermore, it will transform the Castle of Chora (through the interaction of the three thematic museums both among themselves and with the other monuments) into an open Museum and forum – a meeting place for locals and for visitors – a haven for the scientific community – and a landmark and a point of reference for the island itself.
Temporary exhibition at the Ursuline Monastery
As part of the ‘Islets of the Museums of the Castle of Chora, Naxos’ project, works are being carried out in the Museum building to consolidate, restore and upgrade its infrastructure. The largest part of the old exhibition of the Archaeological Museum has been transferred to the adjacent ‘Agia Ursula’ Cultural Centre in the building of the former Ursuline Monastery of the Catholic Archdiocese. From May 15, 2021 for the duration of the project’s implementation, the ‘Temporary Exhibition’ of the Archaeological Museum will operate there, with free admission, offering visitors a journey into the island’s important archaeological past.
