Greek Culture Minister Lina Mendoni said in Kastoria that Greece was implementing “the biggest culture project that has ever existed,” as she highlighted the economic and social impact of museums, monuments and cultural sites.
Mendoni spoke at the “D Karavaggeleia” events, organised by the Metropolis of Kastoria under Metropolitan Kallinikos, focusing on the Byzantine monuments of Meteora and Kastoria.
She said museums, monuments and cultural spaces connected with one another and generated economic activity. Mendoni added that culture used resources, created jobs and attracted investment alongside other sectors of the economy.
The minister said cultural tourism strengthened dialogue and Greece’s international outreach, while pilgrimage tourism contributed to the authenticity of a place and refreshed the visitor experience.
Mendoni said the government changed the “static management” of culture in 2019 and developed a Cultural Development Charter, which she described as an evolving roadmap for promoting cultural products until 2030. She said the charter updated continuously and included contemporary culture, cultural heritage, folk tradition and Christian faith.
She announced that the Culture Ministry currently ran 850 projects across Greece with a total budget exceeding €1.3 billion. Mendoni said this scale of work had once seemed unattainable, but government policies made it possible.
Mendoni described Kastoria as a “characteristic example” of the ministry’s cultural policy and listed ongoing projects, including restoration, maintenance and reconstruction works for Byzantine and Ottoman monuments worth €5 million. She said authorities also prepared studies to highlight the city’s Justinian Wall while restoring and repurposing the Ottoman Medrese on the southern waterfront.
From the Karavaggeleia podium, she announced that studies for the utilisation of the Xenia site were nearing completion. Mendoni said the ministry would launch the tender in May 2026 for a conversion project that would allow the space to host part of the exhibits from the Byzantine Museum of Kastoria, which she said currently faced severe overcrowding.
She urged regional and municipal bodies to prioritise the maturity of studies for monument and cultural space projects, so the ministry could then support resource mobilisation for implementation.
Earlier, Metropolitan of Fthiotida Symeon submitted a proposal to Mendoni for a cross-regional organisation involving Central Greece, Thessaly and Western Macedonia. He said the body would focus on cultural heritage, pilgrimage tourism development, and the protection of Byzantine and post-Byzantine monuments along the new E65 road axis linking Central Greece with Western Macedonia and Epirus.
Metropolitan of Stagoi and Meteora Theoklitos spoke about how Meteora’s monasteries and monumental sites were preserved. He said reconstruction of the seventh monastery, Agia Moni, would begin in the next period, and he highlighted the famous Meteora manuscript codices as among the most important preserved treasures.
The “D Karavaggeleia” events began on Wednesday 11 February and were set to conclude on Sunday 15 February with a wreath-laying ceremony at the monument of Bishop Germanos Karavaggelis and Pavlos Melas, attended by Defence Minister Nikos Dendias.
