Tinos is characterized by many as the island of marble. Pyrgos, one of its largest villages, is a leading artistic center, having produced several of the most important Greek marble sculptors. The Museum of Marble Crafts by the Piraeus Bank Group Cultural Foundation is located there, in modern facilities, in harmony with the characteristic landscape of Tinos. The first of its kind in Greece, the Museum displays local marble craftsmanship, which has been inscribed in UNESCO’s Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage (2015).

The exhibits include secular and ecclesiastical objects, funerary and everyday objects in marble, archival material, engineering equipment and a rich collection of drawings by old marble sculptors. The exhibits are accompanied by representations of a quarry, a marble workshop and the assembly and installation of a bishop’s throne. The audiovisual material in the exhibition brings to life the traditional working methods of the quarrymen and marble carvers. Along with the technological development that marble has gone through, the social and economic dimension of marble carving, the categories of marble products, the history of marble carving in Tinos, as well as the contribution of Tinian marble workers to construction in Athens and other cities in the 19th century are presented. The emphasis on pre-industrial and early industrial Tinos, which was the most important centre of marble carving in modern Greece, highlights the social and economic context in which the local workshops developed.

 In the outdoor areas of the Museum, along with finished and half-finished marble works, historical machinery is exhibited, evoking typical images of physical workplaces.  In the Museum you can see marble blocks in their natural state, feel their texture, observe their colour and crystals. Also, local craftsmen often organise marble carving presentations there.

Pyrgos, Panormos, Tinos, Τ: 22830 31290. Opening hours: in summer 10:00-18:00, in winter 10:00-17:00 (daily, except Tuesday). For more information: www.piop.gr