On the slopes of the Acropolis
A personal look at the work of Pikionis.
In 1951, Karamanlis, Minister of Public Works of Greece, commissioned the architect Dimitris Pikionis managing the slopes of environment of the Acropolis of Athens. The assignment was not only the design of roads giving access to the monument, but in the landscaping of all the elements around him: organization of circulation, creation of parking areas, landscape design and areas rest, selection of the vegetation surrounding environment, ultimately a global project that will structure the framework that led to this giant of the Mediterranean culture.
The route 800m is divided into two distinct zones. On the one hand the path that climbs the hill and leads directly to the gates of the Acropolis and on the other, the walk that links this with Mount Filopapo, where views of the city of Athens and the Acropolis itself are downright gorgeous.
On the climb to Filopappos Hill there is a small Byzantine church of the ninth century, whose restoration work was also made by Pikionis.
In his speech he added a wooden porch, designed the layout of the building ground and coated with ceramic elements following the same philosophy as the rest of the work.
