Korgialenios Library

The Korgialeneios Library is located in the centre of Argostoli on Ilias Zervos Street. It’s open daily, Monday to Friday, from 9 am until 12 noon, while on weekends and afternoons, it is closed. The library has about 60,000 volumes and is one of the largest libraries in Greece. About half of the books, both in Greek and foreign languages, are from the 19th century or earlier. The oldest publication is the Souda Dictionary, an edition of 1499. The library also hosts various events throughout the year such as book presentations and poetry collections.

Historical Review

The Korgialeneios Library was founded in 1924 after the expressed wishes of Marinos Korgialeneios, one of the island’s leading benefactors, in his will. Marinos Korgialenenios began his life’s adventure from Odessa, Russia, to Marseille, France where he ended up in London, UK. There he excelled as a stockbroker. With his homeland of Kefalonia always in his mind and heart, he strongly supported the creation of the Library in Argostoli. His vision was that pupils of the town could have a place to read and study. The Library was destroyed by the terrible earthquake of 1953 but was rebuilt in 1964 with the same architecture. To this day, seniors of the island return to the library space and reminisce about their school days as pupils. 

The Library today

The main hall of the library comprises a reading room where visitors can study the material available. There is also the ability to borrow books from the library and to host events. An important number of manuscripts include manuscripts of Byzantine music and archives by the Kefalonian writers Bampis Aninos and Mikelis Avlichos. The oldest manuscript is a headless quatrain gospel of the 12th century. The library also has a special section with Ionian literature and a collection of Ionian, but mainly Kefalonian newspapers and magazines. Apart from the main room, there are three other rooms, two containing rare collections – donations from the families of the benefactors of Kefalonia, Harokopos, and Vallianos, and a second room for further events.

Hall of Harokopou Family

The room that houses the collection of the Harokopoulos family, contains antique furniture, church icons, and books dedicated to art. The piano in the room was donated to the library before the devastating earthquake of 1953 by the musician Rautopoulos. Panagis Harokopos, one of the family’s benefactors, was the first husband of the late Minister of Culture Melina Mercouri, who is known in history for her political career, her anti-dictatorship activities, her struggle for the return of the Parthenon marbles to Greece and her acting career.

Hall of Vallianos Family

The Vallianos family collection consists of family member portraits and ecclesiastical exhibits that survived the earthquake of 1953. In this collection, visitors can also admire a manuscript from the famous Panagia Soumela and archaeological finds from the Bronze Age in Kefalonia.

Event Hall - Gallery

This hall is available for organising events and piano lessons for students and musicians who wish to do so. In the room, one can observe paintings by local artists, who took part in a joint exhibition that was a tribute for the 100th anniversary of the death of the satirical poet and prose writer, Andreas Laskaratos. Visitors can also see paintings by the late painter Kostas Kounadis, which he donated to the library before his death, capturing beautiful landscapes of the Aegean Sea. There is also a Byzantine church iconostasis from the private church of the Srdrin family, as well as a cochineal that was rescued from a demolished church in Errisos.  

 

Undoubtedly, the Korgialeneio Library of Argostoli is a centre of cultural wealth that is worth a visit, filled with great manuscripts and artefacts that take you back in time and are waiting to be discovered.

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