Museums
Agios Andreas Archaeological Site & Musuem Exhibt
This is the newest and most modern museum of the island (open to the public since 2010). On display are a variety of selected findings from excavations in the region, and a wealth of print and visual material pertaining to both the Acropolis of Agios Andreas and the rest of the island (Ancient ‘Asty’ Kastro, the Sifnos mine, the ancient ‘fryktories’ (beacon towers) from prehistoric times to later antiquity. In 2012 the site was awarded the NOSTRA EUROPA prize, as an excellent example of conservation and the enhancement of cultural heritage. It is open to the public all year round on a daily basis, except for Tuesdays and public holidays, from 8:30 am to 15:00 pm. Information 22840 31488
Archaeological Musuem of Sifnos in Kastro
The two-storey building in the village was constructed by the Archaeological Service in the 1970s, on a plot of land donated by Professor Georgios Maridakis. It was renovated by the Ministry of Culture in the early 1980s, and has been in regular operation since 1986. Its collections include finds from various sites on the island including: Sculptures (tombstones, statues, architectural elements etc.) from the Archaic to the Roman era (6th century BC - 1st century BC), ceramics from Kastro from the Geometric to the Hellenistic period (8th century BC - 2nd century BC), and coins. The most important exhibits are a floral-crowned marble headstone (4th century BC), the head of a marble female statue (4th century BC) The head of a marble kouros (mid 6th century BC), an Ionic order column capital (6th century BC), and a marble headstone (Hellenistic period). It is open to the public every day except Tuesdays and public holidays. Information 22840 31022
Folklore Musuem (Apollonia)
The collection is housed in a building on the main square in Apollonia (Plateia Iroon). The museum is owned by the Sifnian Association and includes exhibits relating to the traditional daily life of the island, including agricultural tools, household items, and local costumes, among other things. The main exhibits are a collection of swords and rifles, and the collections of old traditional costumes, woodcarvings and trunks, embroidery and lace, household items (among them cutlery from Constantinople), agricultural tools, woven basketwork items (such as the famous Sifnian window blinds), beekeeping equipment and pottery, statues of famous Sifnian personages, and Sifnos newspaper archives. The museum was inspired and organised by the Sifnian teacher, writer and ethnologist Antonis Troullos. It is open to the public during the summer season. Information 22840 33730
‘Us in our homes in the old days’ - Ioannis Atsonios Folk Arts & Crafts Exhibition in Artemonas
This is an old house built in the traditional Sifnos architectural style and is laid out and decorated in the manner of most Sifnian homes in bygone days, with traditional furniture, hand-crafted items, framed photographs, engravings, and lithographs, mirrors, opaline oil lamps, pottery, old hand sewing machine, a gramophone from the 1900s, a cradle dating from 1880 brought from Constantinople, wooden shelves from 1880, formal dress clothes hand embroidered in gold, old records, traditional costumes, a radio from the era between the wars, old newspapers, and nuptial agreements, among other items of interest from daily life in former times. Also on display are the personal and official service documents of the Artemonas poet Ioannis Gryparis, as well as a couch belonging to the poet. The exhibition is under the management of the Cultural Association of Sifnos and has been in operation since 2008. It is open to the public from July 15th to September 15th in the evenings (19:00-23:00). Information sifnosps.gr
Ecclesiastical Art Musuem at the moonastery of Vrisis in Exambela
This represents the ‘Study of Byzantine and Post-Byzantine Sifnos’ housed in the Monastery of Vrisis or Vrissiani (Our Lady of the Fountain). Here manuscripts, codified parchments, copies of old printed editions, a New Testament from 1796, reliquaries, metal disks depicting cherubims, ceremonial chalices, vestments, icons, an embroidered ‘feloni’ (ceremonial cape) from Kassiani, among other things. Information 22840 31937
Ceramic Museum of Sifnos
Undoubtedly, the foundation of the Ceramic Museum of Sifnos is bound to hold a catalytic role for the preservation of the Sifnian element. The foundation of this museum has already been launched under the auspices of the Municipality of Sifnos and of DI.K.E.S. (Municipal Public Benefit Enterprise of Sifnos).
The research and documentation which is carried out within the framework of its organisation, ensure the recording of information, objects and testimonials through which the transmission of the Sifnian element is achieved. By housing and promoting the objects of the Xenakis Collection and those of the Collection of different Sifnian Potters, it will offer the visitors a personal experience through which they will not only be informed about the productive process, but also about the habits and social structure of the Sifnian environment over the last centuries. In the long run, it is estimated that the Museum will constitute a part of a cultural centre entirely dedicated to the promotion of the Pottery Art of the island. This cultural centre through hosting cultural, educational and recreational activities will be promoting internationally the cultural identity of the island and thus, creating -at the same time- a cultural legacy for future generations.
Pottery lessons, seminars, periodic exhibitions and other activities aiming at breeding the grounds for the promotion of ideas and at the development of art, will take place in the Ceramic Centre with the participation of visitors and potters from Greece and abroad.
Information sifnospottery.gr
