The French newspaper Le Figaro pays tribute on its website to Athens and the sacred rock of the Acropolis stating that “Greece, which won its bet on good management of the Covid-19 crisis, decided to gradually open its borders from June 15”.
The French newspaper writes: “The Parthenon has always been admired. When hearing about it in 1674, Louis XIV asked the Marquis de Nointel and the painter Jacques Carrey to visit Athens and bring back drawings of the sculptures of the sacred temple designed by Phidias, today exhibited in the National Library of Paris. But right now, the Parthenon, like the other three temples on the Acropolis rock, feels very lonely”.
In its report, Le Figaro includes a statement by archaeologist and guide Angeliki Mansola who says “I can’t wait to climb the steep path leading to this 5th century sanctuary, to feel the welcome of the Goddess Athena and share this moment of euphoria with the visitors”.
The French newspaper continues by saying: “The Acropolis will have to wait a little longer; it is however equipped for tourism ‘compatible with the corona virus’. All protection measures have already been adopted, such as the giant plexiglass panel placed between the steps of the Propylaea to comply with social distancing. Likewise the supervision of visitors, who will arrive every hour in small groups, following a route around the Parthenon, which starts from the Propylaea and continues with the temple of Athena and the Erechtheion with its Doric columns and the Caryatids”.