The Ephorate of Antiquities of Ilia organized two educational workshop at the Olympia Conference and Exhibition Center (SPAP)in the framework of its participation in ‘Coastal Heritage Network – CoHeN’ project funded by Interreg VA Program Greece – Italy 2014-2020.
The first workshop, held on March 10th was addressed to teachers of primary and secondary schools of the prefecture of Ilia, aimed to inform teachers about the history, topography and architectural features of Chlemoutsi castle, one of the most important medieval monuments in Greece, in order to use it during their teaching and to include it in their school visits.
The second workshop, held on April 12th, was addressed mainly to professionals of the tourism sector, aims to identify the potential for tourism development of the monument, which will arise through the constructive dialogue with the tourism sector and stakeholders.
Mrs. Erofili – Iris Kollia, director of the Ephorate of Antiquities of Ilia, prefaced the workshop for teachers, which was mostly attended by members of the educational community of the Perfecture of Ilia. Afterwards, Mrs. Athanasia Ralli, Deputy Director of the Ephorate of Antiquities of Ilia / Head of Department of Byzantine and Post-Byzantine Antiquities and Museums of Ilia, briefly presented the purpose and activities of the project ‘Coastal Cultural Heritage Network’ (CoHeN), as well as the monuments involved in Greece and Italy and provided a brief but a comprehensive historical overview and archeological tour of the archeological site and the Chlemuci castle museum.
The programme of lectures continued with a brief overview by Mrs. Nicoletta Paleologou, archaeologist – museologist, of the educational activities that have taken place in Chlemoutsi Castle in recent years and closed with the presentation of the questionnaire addressed to the educational community and is part of CoHeN project.
The second workshop, which was attended by professionals in the tourism sector, mainly from Ilia and Achaia, was prefaced by the director of the Ephorate of Antiquities of Ilia, Mrs. Erofili – Iris Kollia. Afterwards, Ms. Athanasia Ralli, Head of the Department of Byzantine and Post-Byzantine Antiquities and Museums of Ilia, briefly presented the purpose and activities of the project ‘Coastal Cultural Heritage Network’ (CoHeN), as well as the monuments involved in Greece and Italy and provided a brief but a comprehensive historical overview and archeological tour of the archeological site and the Chlemoutsi castle museum.
The programme of the lectures continued with the short presentation by Ms. Nicoletta Paleologou, archaeologist – museologist, of exploring traffic issues and tourism development opportunities. At the end of the presentation, a reference was made to the questionnaire addressed to professionals in the tourism sector and is part of the CoHeN project.
The meeting, which took place in accordance with the current public health protection measures by COVID-19, ended with a discussion between the participants regarding the possibilities of promoting Chlemoutsi castle in the context of cultural tourism, seeking to improve the relationship between monument and public and clarifying the importance of synergy between stakeholders.
