The Onassis Foundation inaugurates the new building of the Cavafy Archive on Frynichou Street in Plaka

From “I love Athens so much,” which C. P. Cavafy wrote in a letter in 1903, to a building in the heart of the city dedicated to his work in 2023. The Cavafy Archive, situated on Frynichou Street in Plaka, hosts the poet’s literary and personal archive, as well as 966 books from his library and a collection of documents and works of art with references to Cavafy. The aim was to create a tailor-made space for the poet’s writings and books, his personal items and furniture, surrounded by artworks that enable us to gain an in-depth understanding of his growing impact on artists from his era until today, as well as to render his physical—in addition to the digital—archive accessible to scholars and the public alike. Timelessly contemporary, political, sensual, and profound, but always relevant, the internationally acclaimed poet C. P. Cavafy compiled and archived his work on a systematic basis, hence creating a unique literary and personal archive. The Cavafy archive consists of more than 2,000 items, including manuscripts of poems, hand-compiled printed editions, prose literary works, articles, studies, and notes by the Alexandrian poet, along with his personal archive rich in correspondence, texts, and photographs.

“One hundred and sixty years after his birth, Constantine P. Cavafy gains a new ‘home,’ from which the unceasing sensibility of his timeless poetry shall now be transmitted. The Plaka building houses, foremost, the Cavafy archive (initially managed by Prof. G. P. Savvidis), which we acquired in 2012 from Manolis Savvidis. Since then, the Cavafy archive has been constantly enriched with new belongings. Secondly, we were able to acquire and exhibit many of the poet’s original furniture and decorative items, which were transported to Greece by his legal heirs, Alekos and Rica Singopoulo.”

- Anthony S. Papadimitriou, President of the Onassis Foundation

The President of the Onassis Foundation, Anthony S. Papadimitriou, notes: “One hundred and sixty years after his birth, Constantine P. Cavafy gains a new ‘home,’ from which the unceasing sensibility of his timeless poetry shall now be transmitted. The Plaka building houses, foremost, the Cavafy archive (initially managed by Prof. G. P. Savvidis), which we acquired in 2012 from Manolis Savvidis and to whom we would like to extend our gratitude. Since then, the Cavafy archive has been constantly enriched with new belongings. Secondly, we were able to acquire and exhibit many of the poet’s original furniture and decorative items, which were transported to Greece by his legal heirs, Alekos and Rica Singopoulo. These came into our possession from their respective heirs, members of the Trechantzakis family, and we feel obliged to underline their contribution. Therefore, in a building that could have also been embedded within the urban fabric of Alexandria, as it belongs to the same era and architectural style, we concentrated our effort on conveying the ambience of the ‘chambers’ where Cavafy lived, alongside his furniture and poems. The objective is not to activate the space as a Cavafy ‘museum’ but to allow the visitor to grasp the essence of the spiritual and material lives of the poet as much as possible, with no further artificial sensationalism. I believe that the architectural design by Eva Manidaki and Thanassis Demiris/Flux-office serves this purpose ideally. Finally, in this space, we have gathered a handful of documents from the artistic life of Alexandria during the interbellum era. These painters, Alexandrians themselves, knew and socialized with Cavafy and portrayed his city for us. This new space, open to the public and subscribing to the standards of the Onassis Foundation holistic policy, shall operate as a hub of cultural legacy and creation, situated just a few steps away from the Onassis Library and Mandra (our new outdoor event venue); as such, the space aligns itself with the rest of our Cavafy initiatives.”

Eva Manidaki and Thanassis Demiris of Flux-office, who undertook the design and curating of the Archive’s venue, note: “We were thrilled to be invited to a great challenge as this, as we had to bring to the fore such an eminent poet. Our intention was not to create a representation, so our focus shifted to devising a new narrative that remains open to the visitor through the exhibits and their respective adjacencies. The core concept behind the design is to overlay the existing building with a fragmentary second complexion. Each of the objects becomes part of a new narrative. The three spaces serve more as a vessel for the memory of the poet’s personal life—his relationship with light, shade, textures, colors, etc. The Cavafy Archive reserves access to a garden currently under construction, bearing thematic planting arrangements that draw inspiration from Alexandria or flowers, as described in his poems.”

Yet another international cultural heritage attraction open for all residents, researchers, and visitors from all over the world under the architectural design of Flux-office by Eva Manidaki and Thanassis Demiris.