by Christos Zabounis
By a fortunate turn of events, the welcoming hall on the sixth floor of the Athens Club hosted three distinguished speakers who presented the work of the Reading Society of Corfu on the occasion of its 190th anniversary of uninterrupted operation. A connecting link between the two institutions was the shipowner Nikolaos Kosmatos, a member of the Board of Directors of the Athens Club – as it is internationally known – as well as of the Reading Society, thanks to his Corfiot origins. What, then, did the Athenian audience learn about the oldest intellectual institution in the Greek state? First, that the Society maintains a continuously expanding library of more than 50,000 volumes, enriched primarily through donations and including rare editions such as works printed by Aldus Manutius (1515). Second, that its museum galleries house selected pieces from its collection of approximately 700 works of art, among which the famous Charta (Map) of Rigas Feraios stands out. Third, that its membership has included some of Greece’s most prominent literary figures, such as Dionysios Solomos, Andreas Kalvos, Iakovos Polylas, Konstantinos Theotokis, and Lorentzos Mavilis, among others. Fourth, that the Society is a co-owner of the Kapodistrias Museum, which was renovated under its presidency and reopened its doors to the public in 2017. Fifth, that over the past decade, 6,000 students have visited the Society, many of whom have participated in its annual student literary competition. The list is a long one, and the Society’s President, Athanasios Makris, its Scientific Director, Dimitris Zymaris, and the President of the Ionian Academy 1808, Professor Anastasios-Ioannis Metaxas, offered us a glimpse of what it means to preserve traditions while simultaneously building bridges to the future. These are traditions and values shared by both historic institutions.
