Restoration of the First Ancient Theater of Larissa

Until recently, the largest part of the First Ancient Theatre of Larissa had been lying under private plots and residences, but thanks to excavation works in recent years, it came to light almost in its entirety. Until 1950, the damage caused to the monument by the buildings constructed on it was insignificant, almost negligible. From that decade onwards, however, and particularly during the 1960s, the damage caused by the new buildings which replaced the old became extremely serious. The restoration process has begun from 1985 until today and of critical importance to the full excavation of the monument in recent years has been an extensive Ministry of Culture expropriation programme. The Ephorate of Antiquities of Larissa is the organisation responsible for the monument while the Municipality of Larissa has financed relevant studies to be financed by ERDF resources. In addition several other stakeholders have similarly financed studies and relevant activities in order to speed up procedures, namely the Municipal Water and Sewerage Company of Larissa (private company, owned by the Municipality), the “Kanellopoulos Foundation” and “Diazoma” association.