The hundredth anniversary from the death of Charilaos Trikoupis was celebrated with solemnity in 1996. On this occasion various congresses and two exhibitions were organized in Athens and relevant studies and articles were also published. On the contrary a minimum interest was shown in the concrete and material evidence connected with this politician, especially in the houses that his father, Spyridon Trikoupis, built in Aigina, Nauplion and Argos. This indifference shown about material testimonies, connected with historic persons who played an important role in modern Greece is seen in all its magnitude here as well. In this article ,a thorough account of the history of Spyridon Trikoupis’ house in Argos is presented, a brief reference is made to the other houses that he erected in Aigai and Nauplion and at the same time a complete documentation according to which Charilaos Trikoupis was born in Argos in 1830. As regards Spyridon Trikoupis’ house in Argos, we have the opinion that the thorough and complete publication of the history of this building is imperative for many reasons. First, because it has been completely abandoned by the Agricultural Bank of Greece, the latest owner of the house for many years now, secondly the opportunity of the anniversary of Charilaos Trikoupis’ death, thirdly, the history of public building in the Capodistrian age in itself. Local society reacted so badly to the erection of this house in Argos that Capodistrias himself was obliged to issue a decree that limited the extent of land granted by the nation for the bulding of a house inside the town. A final reason is the practice of both the mass media and academic community to deal only with issues concerning Athens. As a result, important data about our architectural heritage from the Greek provinces continue to remain in the fringe of interest and only when threatened with immediate destruction do they temporarily attract public attention. Therefore, with the present article we would like to contribute to the inversion of this sad phenomenon.
Contributions to the history of public building in the Capodistrian era. The house of Spyridon Trikoupis in Argos
21 Aug 2012
by Archaeology Newsroom
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