The collection of writings and belongings of poet Constantine P. Cavafy, who lived from 1863 to 1933, was obtained by the Onassis Foundation in 2012 and is now permanently housed in a renovated house from 1910 in the Plaka district of Athens.
According to amna.gr, in November, the Greek president inaugurated the archive during the celebration of the poet’s 160th birthday. The archive contains more than 2,000 items, such as handwritten poems, printed editions, literary works, articles, studies, notes, personal correspondence, documents, and photographs.
The archive also includes 966 books from his library, personal belongings, and paintings related to him.
The exhibition of part of the archive is divided into three rooms: one displaying Cavafy’s personal items, another focused on his connection with Athens, and a reading Room. The archive and library are located in a specially designed space within the building.
Onassis Foundation president Antonis S. Papadimitriou mentioned that Hellenic studies professor George P. Savvidis assembled the archive, which was then purchased from Manolis Savvidis.
Papadimitriou stated that the Cavafy Archive continues to grow with new additions and he emphasized that the goal is not to create a static museum but to evoke a sense of the poet’s life. The Archive aims to provide free access to researchers and the public, promoting Cavafy’s work and the international nature of his poetry by digitizing and thoroughly documenting the materials in the archive.
The digitization of the archive, completed in 2019 in both Greek and English, is accessible to the public at https://cavafy.onassis.org/.
Source: amna.gr
