NEWS

Court hears case for saving Rizareio park

An official in Greece’s supreme administrative court yesterday argued against the creation of a private modern art museum in one of the few remaining parks in central Athens. Rapporteur Evdoxia Galanou urged the Council of State to accept all appeals by the Association of Greek Town Planners, the Greek branch of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) and concerned Athenians against the granting of 12,055 square meters of the Rizareio Park for construction of the Basil and Elise Goulandris Foundation’s Modern Art Museum. The plot, between the War Museum, the Hilton Hotel and the National Art Gallery, was given to the foundation in 1999 after the ground originally allotted for the museum – to be built along plans by I.M. Pei – was found to contain the remains of the Lyceum where Aristotle taught. The National Technical University of Athens (Athens Polytechnic) has protested strongly against the loss of the park, which was created in 1884.

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