A historic rural palace estate built for the Greek former royal family will open to the public later this year after years of renovation, the culture minister said this week as a former princess was laid to rest there.
Culture Minister Lina Mendoni said plans to create an “open and accessible green space for multiple activities” at the former summer palace of Tatoi, about 29 kilometres north of Athens, has a “main” phase “targeted for 2026”.
Conservation work has also been carried out on approximately 45,000 objects found at Tatoi, Mendoni said.
The trove of over 100,000 items includes vintage clothes, books, household objects, artwork, cars and royal carriages.
“The Tatoi estate is one of the most important historic sites of modern Hellenism, condensing, within its natural beauty, the memory of our country’s modern political and social history,” Mendoni said in a statement.
The 19th-century estate has seen extensive renovation after it nearly burned down in a 2021 summer wildfire, at a cost of over €70 million.
The announcement came as Greece’s former princess Irene − the sister of the country’s last king, Constantine II − was buried at the royal cemetery at Tatoi on Monday.
Irene died in Madrid aged 83 on January 15. Her funeral in Athens was attended by Spain’s King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia, her sister Queen Sofia and other royals.
Most members of the former Greek royal family are buried at Tatoi, including the dynasty’s Danish-born founder George I.
