Athens is well known for its museums – it has more than 80 of them – many of them famous and long-established like the National Archaeological Museum, the Acropolis Museum and the Agora. But there are several more modern institutions that travellers may not be so familiar with, and they are worth checking out in a rediscovery of this ancient yet modern city. Here are three of them, all opened only in the last two years.
The Maria Callas Museum tells the story of the life and legacy of the legendary soprano, who possessed one of the defining voices of 20th-century opera and lived an equally colourful personal life. Opened in time for the centenary of her birth in 2023, the museum is a splendid new addition to the Athens cultural scene and houses more than 1,000 items, including photos and portraits from Callas’s childhood in New York to her years of mega-stardom on the grandest of stages around the world.
Maria Callas was a multi-talented artist with exceptional musical education and remarkable interpretive skills, and her contributions to opera were so significant that they transformed the genre forever.
The first-ever Maria Callas Museum invites visitors to immerse themselves in the world of the renowned diva and explore her unique interpretation of some of the most important roles from her career. The museum showcases Maria Callas’s life and career through a variety of media, including texts, objects, videos and rare audio snippets, creating a smorgasbord of information for her fans.
Since 2000, the City of Athens has been amassing a collection of objects related to Maria Callas. The first items were obtained from an international auction in Paris. Over time, the collection has grown to include around 1,000 items that either belonged to or are associated with the opera singer.
Among the highlights are rare live recordings from various operas, and mementos of her often tempestuous relationship with shipping tycoon Aristotle Onassis. Also displayed is the blue velvet dress Callas wore during what theatre critics call her unforgettable performance of Verdi’s La Traviata at Milan’s La Scala theatre in 1955.
The four-storey museum building located at 44 Mitropoleos Street was constructed during the interwar period, starting somewhere around 1928. It functioned as a three-star hotel with 20 rooms under the name Royal until the 1960s.
Located on the site of the former Fassianos family home in a little-visited area of Athens, the Alekos Fassianos Museum explores the creativity and inspiration of the most recognisable Greek artist of his generation. Fassianos was born in 1935 and his works, which have been exhibited at major museums and galleries around the world, include hundreds of canvasses, larger-than-life murals, lithographs and drawings. He even dabbled in bronze sculptures and costume design. His signature style is defined by rich colours and depictions of mythological themes and Greek traditions, often featuring birds, cupids and bicycles.
Presenting works from 1956 to the end of his life, the exhibition introduces the viewer to Fassianos’s development as an artist, showcasing works from the early years in Paris in the 1960s and his brief influence from abstract art to the inspiration he later draws from Byzantine art. The exhibition pays tribute to his neighbourhood, Agios Pavlos. The “Myth of his neighbourhood” unfolds through a series of works representing local life in the 40s, 50s and 60s in Athens.
The Alekos Fassianos Museum is housed in a building remodelled and designed by architect Kyriakos Krokos in close collaboration with Fassianos himself. The building at 15 Neophytou Metaxas & Chios, Athens (near Metaxourgeio Metro) was completed in 1995 and opened to the public in April 2023.
Honouring one of Greece’s most revered poets, the Elytis House Museum offers an intimate glimpse into the life and creative world of Nobel Prize winner, Odysseus Elytis. His poetry is celebrated for its luminous imagery and universal themes, remaining a cornerstone of modern Greek literature. Located in Plaka (my favourite part of Athens) beneath the Acropolis, the museum opened in 2024 and includes manuscripts, rare publications and a bookcase designed by artist Yiannis Moralis, containing 700 volumes from Elytis’s personal library.
When you enter the museum you’re greeted with an introductory exhibition that delves into the life and legacy of the renowned poet. From his early beginnings to his crowning achievements, the exhibition offers a comprehensive overview of Elytis’ remarkable – and to the uninitiated like myself, probably mysterious – journey through the world of poetry.
One of the highlights of the museum is a faithful representation of Elytis’ home, allowing guests to step back in time and immerse themselves in the intimate setting where the poet found his inspiration. The meticulously presented rooms offer a glimpse into Elytis’s personal space, filled with fascinating memorabilia and artifacts.
Elytis House Museum is at the junction of Dioskouri and Polygnotou streets, in Plaka.
Maria Callas Museum photos © Vangelis Patsialos
Excellent review of lesser-known museums. I enjoyed reading it.
Thank you, Marilyn.