Solomos manuscripts given a new lease on life

A handwritten notebook with “Ode to Lord Byron” by Greece’s national poet Dionysios Solomos underwent conservation at the Byzantine & Christian Museum in Athens.

Conserved manuscripts by Solomos will be put on public display on Thursday at a special event at the museum. The conservation of the 19th-century poet’s manuscripts is being carried out following an initiative of the Culture Ministry in the context of the 200th anniversary of the composition by Solomos of the Greek national anthem, “Hymn to Liberty.” The manuscripts comprise 10 papers and four notebooks.

The manuscripts are usually kept and displayed in the Museum of Solomos and Other Eminent People of Zakynthos, the poet’s homeland. More than 20 years after their last conservation, they were transferred to Athens to receive the care of experts.

“It is a tradition, and part of the culture of the Byzantine & Christian Museum, to offer cooperation wherever it is requested, especially to smaller regional museums, contributing with its expertise to the better preservation of their treasures,” said museum director Katerina Dellaporta.