From the Municipal Market to the Archaeological Museum

Following its full restoration by the Ministry of Culture in November 2005, the Municipal Market was prepared for its new role as the region’s archaeological museum. In August 2006, an introductory display of antiquities offered a preview of the permanent exhibition, spanning prehistoric to post-Byzantine times. It was curated by archaeologists from the 7th Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities and the 6th Ephorate of Byzantine Antiquities, the jointly responsible services under the Ministry’s organisation at the time. In that year and those that followed, the building hosted several successful art exhibitions while work on the archaeological display continued. These included an exhibition of contemporary sculpture by the Association of Greek Sculptors, inspired by the ancient Greek world and Olympic ideals, and paintings by prominent artists from the collection donated by the J. Latsis Foundation to the Latsio Municipal Hall of Pyrgos. Other cultural events included PROVOLI, an exhibition of works by teachers serving in schools in Elis, organised with the Directorate of Secondary Education, and an exhibition of ancient technology featuring working models of Greek mechanisms and inventions by Kostas Kotsanas and his students at the Second Chance School. In 2011, the project “Completion of the exhibition of Pyrgos Archaeological Museum”, with a budget of €1,197,000, was included in the Operational Programme for Western Greece, the Peloponnese and the Ionian Islands. It provided display cases and other museum equipment, alongside additional work needed to organise the exhibition. Drawing on its museological and exhibition design approach, the permanent display centres on people and ideas, with thematic sections, concise texts, original interpretative material and technology. The museum opened in two stages. In July 2013, galleries 1–5 presented prehistoric objects and part of the material from historical times. By the end of that year, work on the remaining sections, covering Byzantine and post-Byzantine times, had been completed. The museum became fully operational in April 2014 and soon established itself as a cultural landmark for Pyrgos and Elis.