The naval park in southern Athens will be a landmark that will highlight the maritime history of Greece and the heritage of the Greeks.
The Naval Tradition Park "Odysseus – The Greeks and the Sea" in Paleo Faliro received construction approval from the General Directorate of Environmental Policy of the Ministry of Environment and Energy.
According to the project design, work on the seafront and beach zone will take approximately 36 months.
It will be built on 2.6 hectares of public land, which had been granted to the Hellenic Navy and the Municipality of Paleo Faliro. The concession of a sea area at a depth of 1 kilometre will complement the project.
The civilian nonprofit company owned by shipowner Aris Theodorides, who donated €35 million to establish the park, will bear the cost of the entire facility's construction.
The aim is for the Naval Tradition Park to become a landmark that will host and highlight in a modern and attractive way Greece's maritime history and intangible and material heritage and serve as a place for learning and cultural development.
The Park's implementation budget was initially set at 35 million euros.
The Odysseus building will include an aquarium, a shop, an auditorium, multi-purpose rooms, a library, offices, an atrium, and a space for permanent and periodic exhibitions.
In the surrounding area, there will be a central square with an exhibition installation of ship models, an outdoor amphitheatre that can accommodate approximately 150 people, event space, and the possibility of temporary mooring of historic vessels deemed seaworthy.
On the western front, in front of the Odysseus building, are the piers of the historic docks, where the historic boats are lined up, which will be included in the open-air exhibition walk.
These are the battleship AVEROF, the trireme OLYMPIAS, and the Hellas Liberty, with the possibility of accommodating other historic vessels, such as the cable steamer "Thalis o Milesios", the historic sailing ship "Eugenios Eugenidis" and the traditional Aegean schooner "Evangelistria".
Stathi Kousouni is a columnist for Travel. Translated by Paul Antonopoulos.
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