Benakeion Archaelogical Museum of Kalamata

6 Papazoglou St, tel. 27210 63100

Opening hours:

Open daily (except Monday) 8:00-14:30

Located on the corner of Benaki and Papazoglou streets, the museum is housed at a mid-19th century building that was donated to the Archaeological Service by Antonis Benakis, the founder of the Benaki Museum in Athens. It was first opened in 1971, but an earthquake that struck the city in 1986 devastated the museum.

Refurbishment work and studies conducted for the reorganization of exhibits lasted until 1995, when the museum reopened with a ground-floor exhibition. Work on the upper level was completed three years later. Renovation work has already begun on the Palia Agora building (Aghion Apostolon square), where it will be housed the new Archaeological Museum of Messinia.

It is a three storey building of traditional architecture with a roof and a small loft on the roof. Only on the facade (on Papazoglou) we see a symmetrical arrangement of openings from the main entrance door (with arched skylight), which is protected by a balcony of the second floor.

The openings are square and those on the ground floor, it is obvious bows. The windows are protected with iron bars on the ground floor and two floors with wooden shutters with movable louvers and projecting cornice. The small balconies supported by ornate corbels and iron with iron railings.