US: The restoration of the statue of Eleftherios Venizelos at the Embassy of Greece in Washington, DC is completed

The restoration of the historic statue of Frederios Venizelos at the Greek Embassy in Washington has been completed. The initiative for the restoration of the historic statue was taken by the Venizelos Foundation’s US Branch.

The statue was sculpted by the famous sculptor Giannis Pappas, who had the opportunity to meet Eleftherios Venizelos through his father who had served as a minister in the Cretan politician’s governments. Pappas created numerous statues of Venizelos throughout Greece, including those in front of the Greek Parliament, in Thessaloniki and Heraklion, Crete.

In particular, the statue outside the embassy is a smaller-scale version of the statue in the “Eleftherias Park” near the American Embassy in Athens, with the only identical copy belonging to the Benaki Museum in Athens.

Greek Ambassador to the United States Katerina Nasika expressed her appreciation, expressing her thanks “to the Venizelos Foundation USA and its sponsors for the preservation of the statue of Eleftherios Venizelos, a landmark of the Greek Embassy in Washington and a tribute to the great politician of modern Greece.”

The restoration was completed under the meticulous supervision of two eminent artists, Antonia Papatzanaki and Vassilis Vassilis, along with the reputable contractor George Marafatsos and with the approval of Alekos Pappas.

Nikos Kastrinakis, President of the Venizelos Foundation’s US Branch, expressed his gratitude to all donors, especially the Kokolakis family. He stated, “We are so excited to see Venizelos represented again in the right way. It is also very moving to see the interest of the community as they watch the statue and share their feelings on social media.”

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