The creation of the Odyssey Elytis Museum in Plaka, which will store valuable archival materials and the work of the Nobel laureate, was secured by a Memorandum of Cooperation, which was signed by the Minister of Culture and Sports Lina Mendoni and the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the City Non-Profit Society “AERTON” Julita Iliopoulou.

The use of the building and two ancillary buildings owned by YPPOA at the intersection of Dioskouroi and Polygnotou streets is provided to AERTON upon completion of its restoration work in the summer of 2023. subsidize the operation of the Museum; and provide specialized expertise and support for the operation of the site, which will be operated by AERTON. Procedures to create space and restore the building began in December 2020.

As Minister of Culture and Sports Lina Mendoni stated: “Since September 2019, our strategy has been to highlight and designate the cultural use of buildings – interesting examples of Athenian urban architecture – that prove the historical continuity of the capital, represent poles of interest for visitors to the city of Athens. In this context, recognizing the great contribution of a leading Greek Nobel laureate, we are creating the Museum of Odysseus Elytis, which will present the works of a poet who bowed to the origins of Greek origin, and at the same time he was the first to accept the revolutionary theories of the modern movement. The Elitis Museum in Plaka will give visitors the opportunity to get in touch with the aesthetics of the poet, his harsh life and his perception of art. An accurate depiction of his office, his workplace, personal belongings that will be exhibited, valuable archival and exhibition material, curated by Julita Iliopoulou, who reverently preserves the legacy of the great poet, will make the Elitis Museum an ark of his collective mythology and his national work.”

Julita Iliopoulou said: “The fact of creating an exhibition and training space for Odysseus Elytis is especially important and touching for me. A house in which there will be something from the material part of his life, something from the aesthetics and frugality that he personified. I thank Minister of Culture Lina Mendoni for her decision to implement an idea that has been nurtured for years. I hope this will be helpful for everyone.”

The work of Odysseus Elytis, poetry and prose, his visual works, many musical compositions, even more translations, as well as the values ​​of universal significance projected through his texts, require systematic promotion, as well as proper preservation, an important part of personal history.

Spaces are planned in the building for an exhibition, as well as for the storage of the Elytis archive, as well as for important visual material demonstrating his varied work. At the same time, through photographs, texts, audiovisual material, the life of the Poet is presented in relief.

The Elitis archive is and remains in the possession of Julita Iliopoulou, who also initiated the proposal to the Ministry of Culture in 2013.