Archaeological Museum of Nafplio
The Archaeological Museum of Nafplio has been housed since the early 1930s in the imposing Venetian three-storey building that borders the western side of Syntagma Square. It is one of the most beautiful and best preserved monuments of the Venetian era in Greece. The Archaeological Museum houses exhibits from excavations of the Archaeological Service, the Archaeological Society and the Foreign Archaeological Schools as well as donations (Glymenopoulos, Nikandrou).
The top exhibit of the museum is the Mycenaean armor of the Trees that dates to the end of the 15th century. e.g. This is the brightest and most impressive example of the defensive armament of Mycenae that has survived to this day. Impressive are the large wheeled figurines of the 13th and 12th c. e.g. from Midea and Tiryns as well as the head of a female figurine of the 12th c. e.g. from Asini, known as the “prince of Asini”. Also important exhibits are the clay votive shields, found on the Upper Acropolis of Tiryns dating to the early 7th century. e.g. The unique written representations of the shields are among the earliest narrative scenes with mythological content.
The permanent exhibition space of the museum has a total area of 580 sq.m. and occupies the first and second floors.
War Museum of Nafplio
The War Museum of Nafplio, inaugurated in 1988, is housed in a stone neoclassical building on Amalia Avenue in the center of Nafplio, essentially an annex of the respective museum in Athens.
The building in which it is housed is an authentic historical monument since it is the building that housed the Military School of Guards in the first years of its operation. On the two floors of the War Museum, relics of the modern history of Greece from the Revolution of 1821 until the Liberation from the German occupation forces (1944) are exhibited in chronological order.
National Gallery – Brunch of Nafplio
The preserved neoclassical building of Sidiras Merarchias Street no. 23, was built in 1905 and was used by its owner, a gynecologist and later Mayor of Nafplio, Georgios Minaios, as a residence and private clinic. Later, when the operation of the clinic ceased, the headquarters of the 4th Iron Division, the Hospital of Nafplio, the Senior Administration of the Gendarmerie and lastly, the tavern entitled Nikolas were housed in the building. The building became the property of the Municipality of Nafplio and in 1997, it was given to the National Gallery to function as its branch. The exemplary renovation of the building and its museological equipment was done by the Onassis Public Benefit Foundation.
Today the Nafplio branch is considered one of the most complete and perfect regional museums in the country. It is worth visiting to see the permanent exhibition of works entitled “1821- Forms and themes of the Struggle of Greek Independence”. Here you will find creations of great Greek artists such as Th. Vryzakis, N. Gyzis, Nick. Redeemer, of Dion. Tsokou et al., Through which you will travel to the struggles of the heroes of 1821 since the historical events and the achievements of the heroes are approached in a humanitarian way.
Peloponnesian Folklore Foundation
The Peloponnesian Folklore Foundation – Vassilios Papantoniou is housed in a neoclassical building of the early 20th century. It consists of the ground floor and two floors. The ground floor houses the reception of visitors and the shop of the Museum. The building that houses the Museum of the Foundation is located at 1 Vas. Alexandrou and Sofroni Street. In 1974 the first exhibition at the museum was about the agricultural and urban costumes of the Peloponnese. Since 2006, in the already renovated interior building, the exhibition on “Greek City: Nafplion 1822-1922” is presented. The new permanent exhibition mainly concerns urban Nafplio and the surrounding areas.
On the ground floor, various museum objects are presented in a bold free installation to emphasise the diversity of the collecting philosophy of PLI.
Public Library “Palamidis”
The Library was founded in 1949 by the Progressive Association of Nafplio “O Palamidis”. In 1952 it became public and operates under the name “Public Central Library of Nafplio” O Palamidis “under the supervision of the Ministry of Education. It is not only an organized information center but also a spiritual and cultural center. Today it lists over 75,000 volumes of books including important collections, such as part of the library of Angelos Terzakis and Vassilis Kyriakopoulos, the manuscripts of Antonis Lekopoulos, the scores of Vassilios Charamis, and a large part of the personal library of Mrs. Klio Presve. Most important of all, is the rare library of the Gymnasium of the “first in Greece”, which includes the so-called “paleotypes”, rare and valuable books (the oldest is a edition of 1504). The books are digitized and available to researchers. On the premises of the library there is a Lending Department, a Reading Room, which includes a Public Information Center for searching information via the internet, a Local Department, as well as an archive of Newspapers and Magazines. It lists over 6,000 registered members to whom it provides its services free of charge.
