Greece’s Culture Minister inaugurated the fully renovated Archaeological Museum of Thira on the island of Santorini over the weekend, in a high-profile launch that showcases the government’s strategy of using cultural heritage as an engine for economic growth in its world-famous tourist destinations.
The museum’s reopening, timed with the start of the summer season, marks the 27th such cultural institution that the ministry has opened or overhauled since 2019, according to Culture Minister Lina Mendoni.
“This is a significant day for Santorini, the Cyclades and the Ministry of Culture,” Ms. Mendoni said at the ceremony. “The museums we create and deliver to local communities are simultaneously cultural landmarks and developmental resources.”
The project is part of a national push to modernize Greece’s archaeological sites and museums, connecting them more directly to regional development and the tourism industry.
The museum’s inaugural exhibition, “Kykladitisses,” features a curated collection of iconic figurines and vessels from the Early Cycladic period.
The show is the result of a new partnership between the Culture Ministry, the regional Cyclades Ephorate of Antiquities, and the private Museum of Cycladic Art in Athens.
Sandra Marinopoulou, president of the Museum of Cycladic Art, said the collaboration aims to deepen research and global awareness of the ancient civilization that flourished in the Aegean islands. Bringing the exhibition from Athens to Santorini, she noted, was a deliberate choice.
“This decision was our way of giving back to the Cyclades,” Ms. Marinopoulou said. “They are, after all, the very reason for our museum’s existence.”
The reopening of the museum on one of the world’s most popular islands signals Greece’s commitment to leveraging its rich archaeological legacy not as static relics, but as vital contributors to its modern economy.
