A permanent fence has been installed at the iconic monument of Naxos, the Portara, following the approval of the Ministry of Culture and the unanimous recommendation of the Central Archaeological Council. The project was carried out by the Ephorate of Antiquities of the Cyclades and, according to the official announcement of the Ministry of Culture, “it was implemented exactly as originally planned.”
However, the process was not without its challenges. The Ministry refers to “unforgivable arrests of officials of the archaeological service, pointless disputes and unnecessary actions,” which, according to the announcement, disrupted the cooperation between the relevant services and the Municipal Authority of Naxos. Despite tensions, the permanent fence has now been completed, marking a step towards the protection and promotion of the monument.
The following is the entire announcement from the Ministry of Culture and Sports:
On 29.09.2025, the Mayor of Naxos’s request to the Ministry of Culture for the immediate removal of the temporary fencing of the Temple of Apollo (Portara) monument on Palatia islet in Naxos was to be discussed before the Naxos Court of First Instance. However, the Municipality of Naxos stated to the audience of the Court of First Instance that it was withdrawing its request, resulting in the trial being cancelled without a court decision being issued, which was apparently negative against the Municipality.
It is recalled that, due to an incident of misconduct by a visitor, the Ephorate of Cyclades Antiquities placed a temporary fence around the monument from 29.07.2025, when the incident occurred, until 27.09.2025, when the permanent fence would be installed, following the completion of the relevant study, its approval by the Central Archaeological Council, and the corresponding appropriation by the Ministry of Culture. The Cyclades Ephorate had initially informed the Municipality of Naxos that the placement of a temporary fence for the aforementioned temporary period was a mandatory action by the serving officials under Law 4858/2021, and any omission would result in criminal and disciplinary penalties against them.
However, the Mayor, by his personal choice and without the approval of the Municipal Committee, caused the arrest of the officials of the Ephorate of Antiquities, their appearance at the police station and their fingerprinting as accused offenders, an event that received widespread publicity. Additionally, the Mayor requested that the Court order the removal of the temporary fence immediately before 27.09.2025, as scheduled by the Ministry of Culture, and thus leave the monument without any demarcation or protection until then. And this, despite a second incident of misconduct having already occurred on the night of 11 to 12.08.2025. With his resignation today, the Mayor prevented a court ruling on his request, causing the mandatory dismissal of the trial.
To avoid repetition of inaccurate statements made by the Municipality on 20.08.2025, when the Court’s interim order was issued, it is noted – and documented – that the date of 29.07.2025, to replace the interim fencing with the final one, was not requested by the Municipality of Naxos, nor was it imposed by the Court on the Ministry of Culture. On the contrary, it was the date that the Ministry of Culture had initially decided and had notified in writing – pursuant to the 2025-08-17 document of the Ephorate of Antiquities of the Cyclades – prior to its 2025-08-20 interim order.
Finally, it is noted that, as early as 26.09.2025, the Ephorate of Antiquities completed the permanent fencing project, as approved by the Ministry of Culture, following the unanimous opinion of the Central Archaeological Council, earlier than the initial timeline. That is, the Ministry of Culture implemented the project exactly as it had been initially planned, but after unforgivable arrests of officials of the archaeological service, pointless disputes, and unnecessary actions, which disrupted the cooperation of the responsible services of the Ministry of Culture with the Municipal Authority of Naxos.”
