Greece's Ancient Sites For Rent
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk
#temple #greece #delphi #acropolis #culture #realestate
Archaeological treasures including the temple of Delphi, the most popular site after the Acropolis, will be available as backdrops for filming and photographic shoots for as little as US 2.1 thousand (1.6 thousand euro) a day, reported The Guardian.
Crisis-hit Athens has turned to the glory that was Greece to help its ruined economy. The debt-choked nation has taken the dramatic step of deciding to rent out the Acropolis and other antiquities, cultural gems until now considered too sacred to besmirch with commerce. Under a scheme revealed this week, foreign film crews, advertising agencies and other commercial enterprises will be allowed to photograph 5th century BC Periclean masterpieces, such as the Parthenon, in the hope that it will help boost the country's coffers and image abroad.
Previously the country's Central Council of Archaeology, one of the nation's most powerful bodies, had steadfastly refused to grant access to the treasures for anything other than scientific research. Filming requests were either rebuffed or granted only in return for an astronomical fee. With professional photographers unable to access sites, international book publishers had stopped printing contemporary pictures. In its 2,500-year history the Acropolis has only ever been rented out for filming to Francis Ford Coppola and to Nia Vardalos, the Greek-American star of "My Big Fat Greek Wedding", for her sequel "My Life in Ruins". At the time Vardalos complained that she had spent "an awful lot of energy and time" trying to convince Greece that the move would be to its benefit.
Forced to survive on a mere 0.7 percent of the national budget, the culture ministry hopes the fees will help boost its ability to look after monuments that have been badly hit by Greece's economic crisis. Lack of maintenance funds have meant that workers could only start building a new staircase in Delphi this week. But the culture ministry cautioned that the opening of sites would still be strictly controlled. All the revenues will be used by the ministry, whose funds have been cut by more than 30 percent since 2010.
Crisis-hit Athens has turned to the glory that was Greece to help its ruined economy. The debt-choked nation has taken the dramatic step of deciding to rent out the Acropolis and other antiquities, cultural gems until now considered too sacred to besmirch with commerce. Under a scheme revealed this week, foreign film crews, advertising agencies and other commercial enterprises will be allowed to photograph 5th century BC Periclean masterpieces, such as the Parthenon, in the hope that it will help boost the country's coffers and image abroad.
Previously the country's Central Council of Archaeology, one of the nation's most powerful bodies, had steadfastly refused to grant access to the treasures for anything other than scientific research. Filming requests were either rebuffed or granted only in return for an astronomical fee. With professional photographers unable to access sites, international book publishers had stopped printing contemporary pictures. In its 2,500-year history the Acropolis has only ever been rented out for filming to Francis Ford Coppola and to Nia Vardalos, the Greek-American star of "My Big Fat Greek Wedding", for her sequel "My Life in Ruins". At the time Vardalos complained that she had spent "an awful lot of energy and time" trying to convince Greece that the move would be to its benefit.
Forced to survive on a mere 0.7 percent of the national budget, the culture ministry hopes the fees will help boost its ability to look after monuments that have been badly hit by Greece's economic crisis. Lack of maintenance funds have meant that workers could only start building a new staircase in Delphi this week. But the culture ministry cautioned that the opening of sites would still be strictly controlled. All the revenues will be used by the ministry, whose funds have been cut by more than 30 percent since 2010.
