The classic shipwreck of Peristera, outside Alonissos Island, sank in the Aegean Sea around 500 B.C. with its 4,000 wine amphorae, opens its gates on the 3rd of August 2020, as the first underwater museum in Greece and the oldest shipwreck in the world in which one can dive, entitled as “Parthenon of Shipwrecks”.

The project has been also reviewed by the FINCH Partner Region of Thessaly as Good Practice entitled “Enhancing cultural heritage with a new perspective through BlueMed: the underwater museums” and has been positively evaluated and published in the Interreg Europe Policy Learning Platform Good Practices' database. The overall concept and approach can serve as an inspiration for other regions with maritime cultural and natural heritage interested to protect and valorize their heritage.

The pilot operation of the Peristera shipwreck as a visitable marine archeological site is the result of cooperation with:

  • the Ephorate of Marine Antiquities
  • the Ministry of Culture and Sports
  • the Region of Thessaly 
  • the Municipality of Alonissos.

The project was launched in the framework of the BLUEMED cross-border cooperation program co-financed by the European  Regional Development Fund and will continue with the funding of the Thessaly Regional Development Plan until 2023. 

To have an overview on all Good Practices  that Thessaly Region - in teamwork with Project Coordinator Regione Piemonte - elaborated, submitted and furtherly have been appproved and published on Interreg Europe Policy Learning Platform database, please visit this link: 

https://www.interregeurope.eu/finch/news/news-article/8216/region-of-thessaly-good-practices-approved/