A new silversmithing museum has opened in Ioannina Castle to showcase the city’s extensive history and skill in the silver industry. The idea for the project began in 2008, with the implementation of studies on restoring the space.

Supported by the local community and with attention given to preserving the original masonry of the space, the museum is the ninth craft museum sponsored by the Piraeus Bank Group Cultural Foundation. The space for the permanent exhibition was provided by the Ministry of Culture.

Following the corian surfaces which were placed over a wooden background, the visitor traces the area’s silversmithing history through explanatory audiovisual material, workshops of famous artisans, multimedia and exhibits that glisten in glass showcases suspended above the floor.

Among the ecclesiastical items, Jewish religious art objects, crescent-moon amulets, silver pistols and the silverware of noble families that was part of every dowry, the narrative of the Silversmithing Museum unfolds.

The museum deals with silversmithing technology in the pre-industrial period, while illuminating the extensive history of silverware in Epirus from the 15th century to the 20th. It was inaugurated on September 17, 2016. This museum adds to a network of cultural museums created over the last few years in the region.

President of the Piraeus Bank Group Cultural Foundation, Sofia Staikou, said at the opening ceremony “Culture is of great importance, especially in difficult times, times of economic crisis, identity crisis and values.” She said at the opening ceremony, stressing that it will be on the side of the healthy forces. “With them we will fight the battle for Greece that we deserve.”

Originally published in Kathimerini newspaper