The protection, conservation, restoration and enhancement of the monuments of the Athenian Acropolis, one of the most important sets of monuments of world cultural heritage, are realised by the Acropolis Restoration Service (YSMA). The interventions are carried out to maintain and hand over to future generations, in the best possible condition, the unique monuments that were created by the Greeks at the peak of the Classical civilization, to promote their artistic values and appreciate their architectural form and function.
The scientific responsibility for the implementation of the restoration project lies since 1975 with the Committee for the Conservation of the Acropolis Monuments (ESMA), a multidisciplinary scientific panel of experts. The interventions began in 1975 as a rescue operation for treating the serious structural problems of the monuments and the rapid degradation of their surface. The methodical investigation of the surviving architectural material allowed the correction of misplacements from previous restoration interventions and made possible, in conjunction with the reintegration of scattered ancient material, the restoration of greater areas of the monuments, thus greatly improving their original form.
The systematic documentation, the focused studies before any intervention and the development of advanced technological applications during the execution of the works have rendered the work carried out on the Acropolis monuments in the last 38 years internationally recognised.
The projects are co-funded by Greece and the European Union