;ATHENS – On the occasion of International Museum Day and the reopening of Greek archaeological sites, following the lifting on Monday of restrictions to control the spread of Covid-19, President of the Hellenic Republic Katerina Sakellaropoulou visited the Athens Acropolis, accompanied by Culture Minister Lina Mendoni.

Concluding her visit to the archaeological site, Sakellaropoulou said it was a global cultural heritage monument, whose beauty and harmony have inspired and will continue to inspire the entire world, and that "as in the verse of George Seferis, the marbles shone in the sun."

She also stressed that "with care for our unique cultural monuments, with love and recognition of their eternal value – and the strict, of course, observance of health measures – we will all stand together a little taller."

Referring to International Museum Day and the opening of archaeological sites to the public, Sakellaropoulou noted that this was an almost symbolic coincidence: On the one hand, the "digital" celebration of the day as decided by the International Council of Museums, in line with the extraordinary conditions still prevailing throughout the world, and on the other hand, the freedom to walk around the open and visitable sites "where the history and art of our ancestors has left its mark."

Moreover, she stressed that "it is a fertile parallel journey because, thanks to the new technologies, we can access data and objects of historical and cultural interest, while at the same time we can also communicate and interact with the evidence of the past in the traditional way."