Rizari Park

What I can see

It is a small but central park of 24 acres. With the exception of a few eucalyptus trees, the park’s flora is exclusively Mediterranean, much of which was a bequest from Georgios Rizaris. During the last redevelopment, more Mediterranean plants were added such as olive trees, carobs, cypresses, sycamores, angelicas, rosemaries and arbuti. Despite the intense human flows and car traffic, it remains an open space for relaxation. There are also many sculptures, mainly on the west side of the park. On some slab paths, we see verses from Samuel Beckett’s poem Cascando (1936), a conception by artist David Harding, as part of Documenta 14 (2017). The park does not belong entirely to the Municipality of Athens and this is why there are obvious differences between the western and eastern parts.

What I can't see

At the corner of Vasilissis Sofias and Rizari streets, where the metro is located today, was the Rizarios Ecclesiastical School, which was founded in 1841, with a donation from the Georgios and Manthos Rizaris brothers, and operated for a century at this location, while today it operates in Chalandri district (northern Athens). Today, the school building does not exist, unlike the administrative services and the church of Agios Georgios. The original park occupied a much larger area. Georgios Rizaris wanted a recreational park for the youth in the centre of Athens. In recent years, due to the construction of metro line 4 and the additional metro station in Evangelismos area, a major issue has arisen regarding the new station and the construction site within the park, as is laid down in the initial study, which results in the cutting of hundreds of trees. There have been serious objections and the construction company proposed an alternative solution, but at ten times the initial cost. The issue is still pending.

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