“As Minister of Culture and Sports and as a citizen, I absolutely support the use and operation of all historic cinemas in the center of Athens,” the statement said. Lina Mendoni on the issue of Ideal, Astor and Iris.

Ms. Mendoni also notes: “The continued operation of cinemas could add value to any use of the buildings around them.”

As stated in the relevant announcement, “the right to declare a building in use belongs to the Ministry of the Environment”, while under the current institutional structure, the Ministry of the Environment can only declare a building in use if it has been declared a monument. However, “with regard to three cinemas, the conditions established by law for their recognition as monuments have not been met.”

Ministry announcement

“The newspaper Eleftheros Typos, through the head of its department of culture, Mr. K. Zalig, sent the following question to the Minister of Culture and Sports, Line Mendoni:

– Madam Minister, we know that the Ministry of Environmental Protection is responsible for saving the Ideal, Astor and Iris. What is your opinion as a minister of culture and as an ordinary resident of this city and country? Is it worth losing three more attractions with such a long history (Ideal has been in operation for 101 years) to build hotels, offices or something else that deprives residents of another meeting point in the city? Do you intend to take any initiative so that their use does not change?

– Obviously, as a Minister of Culture and Sports and as a citizen, I absolutely support the use and operation of all historical cinemas in the center of Athens. When dozens of buildings were vandalized and burned on February 12, 2012, including the two historical and preserved APOLLO and ATTIKON cinemas, the destruction of the cultural heritage as well as the memory of our city was irreparable. The magnificent architectural monument, which housed two halls, was designed by Ernesto Ziller (1870-81). Since then it has been dark on Stadiou Street. Burnt ruins, gaping windows remind us that the urban fabric of Athens cannot be left to fend for itself…

Despite the tireless efforts of the government and the institutional means it has taken to re-open them, burlap, after a full eleven years, is hurting not only us as citizens, but also the historical center of Athens. If the work of IDEAL – although I have read that there is a clear intention to continue its work – and ASTOR is interrupted, the character of the historic center, which has already been subjected to numerous abuses, will change. Athens, as a living organism, must develop, keeping its landmarks not as a nostalgic memory, but as a link that connects its past with the future.

The continued operation of cinemas can add value to any use of the surrounding buildings. I remember IRIDA, on the corner of Hippocrates and the Academy, from my student days, as a university classroom.

The current institutional framework does not allow the YPPOA to declare a building in use unless it has been declared a monument under the provisions of Law no. 4858/2021 on the protection of antiquities and cultural heritage in general. With regard to three cinemas, the conditions established by law for their declaration as monuments were not met. The right to declare the use of the building belongs to the Ministry of the Environment.

The desire of all of us, those of us who have grown up and live here, is that Athens retain its historical character and its intangible cultural fund, of which the halls of all five cinemas are part. We don’t want them to be cut off from the living reality of our city.”

⇒ News today

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