The Ancient Quarries of Marathi on the Minister of Culture’s table

The Ancient Marble Quarries of Marathi were the first item on the agenda when the Mayor of Paros, Kostas Bizas, met the Minister of Culture, Lina Mendoni, in Athens on Wednesday 30 September 2026.

The working meeting was attended by Cyclades MP Filippos Fortomas, the Ministry’s Secretary-General Olympia Vikatou, the Head of the Ephorate of Antiquities of the Cyclades Dimitris Athanasoulis, Deputy Mayor for Culture Anna Kagani, and Nikos Malatestas, Managing Director of the non-profit Paros Ancient Marble Quarries Park (AMKE), together with Ministry officials.

A request made in July

The meeting followed a memorandum the Mayor sent to the Minister on 24 July 2026 (ref. 14904), asking to see her in person. In it he calls the protection and presentation of the quarries the Municipality’s first priority, and a pillar of a more diversified, sustainable model of development for the island.

The memorandum recalls an earlier proposal by the former Secretary-General, G. Didaskalou: a Master Plan for the site, to be produced under a programme agreement between the Ministry and the Municipality, with the Municipality paying for the study. It was not followed up.

It also credits the AMKE, founded in 2022 by representatives of local bodies, for what it has achieved with limited means: information signs on site, funding of studies, and contributions to land purchases. The AMKE has a cooperation protocol with the Ephorate and works with the Service for Modern Monuments. The memorandum notes that, despite minimal presentation, the site receives dozens of visitors a day.

Five priorities

The memorandum sets out five areas of work:

1. Stabilising the Quarry of the Nymphs. An existing study for the quarry face and the first part of the southern gallery could be adapted and applied, at least to restore the ancient southern entrance with its relief of the Nymphs. Instrumented monitoring of the southern underground gallery is being installed with the Ephorate, funded by AIGEAS (A. & M. Martinos Foundation). A comprehensive approach to the quarry’s geotechnical stability is still needed.
2. Opening the first section of the Quarry of Pan to visitors. The AMKE has prepared a proposal with the National Technical University of Athens and specialist architects and engineers. Funding is being sought.
3. Saving the 19th-century industrial buildings. The most important, the marble-cutting building known as the Kopterio, could become the site’s visitor centre, but its complex ownership must first be resolved. Emergency works on the winch houses at the entrances to the Quarry of the Nymphs are under study, on the AMKE’s initiative and with the Service for Modern Monuments.
4. Better conditions for visitors. Architects working with the AMKE have prepared preliminary designs for light, reversible interventions. A broader overall approach is still required.
5. An Environmental and Cultural Park. Beyond its archaeological importance, the area has real environmental value and potential for cultural events, chiefly around sculpture but also music, as trial events over the past two summers have shown. The AMKE has secured possession and use of the 45-stremma (4.5 ha) plot that encloses the entrances to the Quarry of the Nymphs. The Municipality has budgeted to acquire full ownership of it and may gradually buy further properties.

To tie these together, the Mayor asked for a Master Plan; failing that, a revision and spatial extension of the earlier study by D. Schilardi and Chr. Takos; or at minimum a detailed agreement between Ministry and Municipality on strategic directions. Such a framework would cover the scheduling of studies, works and permits, budgets and funding, and the body that will manage the site. His concrete request: a programme agreement between the Ministry and the Municipality to produce the Master Plan.

What the meeting produced

According to the Municipality’s press release of 1 October, the Minister listened closely to the issues raised and expressed the Ministry’s interest in advancing the interventions. Options for securing funding for the studies and works were also examined. The stated aim for the quarries is to carry out the necessary studies and plan interventions for their protection, presentation and accessibility to visitors.

The Mayor also raised the repair of the Frankish Monastery (Frangomonastiro) to house a Byzantine Museum for the ecclesiastical treasures now kept in the cells of the Panagia Ekatontapyliani. Other sites discussed included the Byzantine Castle of Parikia, the expansion of the Archaeological Museum, the Koukounaries acropolis, the castles of Naoussa and Marpissa, the ancient cemetery and the underwater antiquities in Parikia harbour.

The Mayor described the meeting as substantive and productive, and thanked the Minister for her readiness to coordinate the competent services. The press release does not mention a programme agreement, a Master Plan or a specific funding commitment.

What comes next

For the Friends of Paros and Antiparos, who have long supported an archaeological and cultural park at Marathi and backed the founding of the AMKE, the meeting is a welcome step. The Municipality, the Ministry’s leadership, the Ephorate and the AMKE sat at the same table around a concrete set of priorities.

The test is whether the Ministry’s interest becomes a signed programme agreement and a Master Plan. Local support is already in place: on 17 July the Municipal Council, across all factions, responded positively to the AMKE’s proposal for a Park of the Ancient Quarries in partnership with the Municipality. The Friends will follow developments and report on them here.

• Find out more at the AMKE’s website