Filenews 16 January 2023 - by Dora Christodoulou
The announcement a few days ago of the tender for the implementation of the Historical Documentation Centre of the City of Pafos and the landscaping of the surrounding area, marks the practical reflection of the warm welcome that the project has received among the citizens of Pafos since its announcement, two years ago.
The pioneering, for the city's standards, project will include a Museum for the promotion of the history of the city and the redevelopment of customer spaces and streets in the area that extends from the Old Central Police Station to the Armenian Park.
The central idea running through the project is the creation in the heart of the historic centre of Pafos an enclave of culture and architectural heritage with high-quality infrastructure for pedestrians. Through the project, the Municipality of Paphos aims to create a bridge of memory and architecture between the Museum of Historical Memory and the balcony of the old town.
The project, the value of which is estimated at €11.3 million, includes, among other things, the complete restoration and reuse of the building of the old Police Station for use as a Historical Documentation Centre of the city of Paphos, the addition and extension of the building of the former Police Station to meet the needs of the new use and the configuration of the space from the old Police Station to the Armenian Park. It also includes landscaping with greenery, footbridge, canopies, urban equipment and more.
Of particular importance in the project will be the collection and exhibition of relics from events and periods that were a milestone in the history of Pafos. An aspect for which from the first moment citizens and organized groups of Pafos showed a strong interest. It is characteristic that the first relevant announcement of the Municipality of Paphos with which it appealed to the citizens to hand over everything related to the history of the city, was followed by a satisfactory interest in the first phase of many to help, which makes the project the property of civil society before it was even created in substance.
In the context of the creation of the Historical Documentation Centre, the Municipality of Paphos requested all owners of objects related to the history and tradition of the city of Pafos to make them available to the scientific team which prepares the museological study in order to be used for the preparation of the study and evaluation for inclusion in the exhibits of the Centre.
As the Municipality has announced, the receipt and management by the team of objects will be done under conditions and conditions that will ensure their protection and integrity.
"The objects or collections that will be donated to the municipality," clarifies a relevant announcement, "will bear accompanying signs in which their donors will be mentioned. In case holders of objects wish to lend them for a specific period, they will be able to grant them with the status of long-term lending. And in this case, the name of the lender will be written on the accompanying sign."
The evolution from 300 BC to the end of the 20th century.
According to the indicative list of objects communicated by the Municipality of Pafos, the historical documentation centre under construction can be given documentary evidence, such as school leaving certificates, correspondence with important personalities, material related to important events, such as the Liberation Struggle, the intercommunal riots, the coup d'état, the Turkish invasion, photographic material related to events and events, personalities and activities from a wide range, audiovisual material concerning events – milestones in the history of Pafos, books, handwritten notes (manuscripts), diaries, letter material, notebooks, maps, stamps, receipts, newspapers and magazines of the time, lithographs, engravings, posters, sketches, cultural / artistic events programs, press articles in general about Paphos, urban and folk costumes, student uniforms from various periods, costumes from school theatrical performances, printed programs and related publications, flags, banners, prizes, awards, honorary plaques, medals, works of art by renowned artists of the city, collections of antiquities legally held, relics from the Byzantine Period that are legally occupied, relics – memorabilia from the participation of the Paphians in the struggles of Hellenism and objects from the field of music.
The Mayor of Paphos described the project as unique for the data of Cyprus and particularly important for the city, since through the use of modern digital technologies, with three-dimensional illustrations and augmented reality, the historical route and evolution of the city from 300 BC to the end of the 20th century will be presented, while natural objects will be included in the space.
