The
royal palace of Tatoi,
a fairytale place surrounded by
eucalyptus forests
less than an hour from
Athens
, acquired in 1871 by
King George I of Greece
for 300,000 drachmas, is preparing to open its doors in 2023 after
a work of titans
. It was the childhood home of
Doña Sofía
and there, in the garden,
are the tombs of her parents,
Kings Pablo and Federica, along with a score of members of the Greek dynasty. After the coup of the colonels in 1967 and the referendum that sent his brother, King Constantine
,
into exile
,
who
was expropriated by
the socialist Papandréu
In 1994 all his assets, stripping him even of Greek nationality, were left in a state of
absolute abandonment.
"Returning to Tatoi was
a blow to all my memories,"
declared Queen Sofia in 1998, when she visited the palace on her first official trip with
Don Juan Carlos
to her native country.
Much has changed today in Greece, so much so that in 2013
the former monarch was able to return to his homeland
after almost half a century of exile in London, settling in Porto Jeli, on the Peloponnese coast. Later, in 2019, the government of the conservative Kyriakos Mitsotakis, in good harmony with Constantino, decided to
recover the old splendor of Tatoi
and, with an investment of
130 million euros,
turn it into a tourist attraction center. An ambitious project that will even have its own brand of
organic products such
as wine, oil, eggs and honey produced on the 4,500 hectares of Tatoi, similar to what Prince Charles of England has done in his residence in Highgrove.
The complex will house a
spectacular five-star hotel with a spa,
and will have restaurants, shops, sports fields and a convention center.
But the jewel in the crown will be
the museum,
which will have its headquarters in the palace itself and will exhibit numerous
mementos of a monarchy
that, smoothed over old wounds, has regained the respect of a large part of the Greek people.
In the palace gardens are buried, among others, the parents of Doña Sofía, the kings Pablo and Federica.
And it is that, between blows and blows of the pickax,
historical treasures
do not stop emerging
.
The last, a few days ago, when in 235 dust-covered boxes stored in the old cellar,
4,000 bottles of wine
and other alcoholic beverages
were discovered
with their collector's labels of
incalculable artistic value.
Among them, mythical wines such as Château Margaux, Château de Vincennes, Château de Rothschild or the special ceramic bottle that Chivas whiskey produced to commemorate the accession to the throne of Elizabeth of England. Not to mention other curiosities such as
old soda cans
that arrived at the palace before being marketed.
Previously, other jewels of the dynasty had already come to light, for example, in the old stable, in hundreds of aged boxes,
period furniture, lamps, rugs, photographs, documents and even toys were found.
The most curious were
70 suitcases and travel trunks
that belonged to Queen Federica, mother of Doña Sofía and grandmother of King Felipe.
Although perhaps the most historically interesting find, hidden behind the mountains of boxes stacked to the ceiling, were
12 period carriages.
One of them, the one used by Don Juan Carlos and Doña Sofía
at their wedding in Athens,
on May 14, 1962, which was acquired by King George I for his proclamation, and bears
the coat of arms of the Greek dynasty.
Also the one used by King Constantine at his wedding with Ana María of Greece. All of them, after being
cleaned and repaired,
will be exhibited in the museum of royal carriages along with eight other vintage cars found a few months ago, including two MG TDs from 1952 and a Rolls-Royce Phantom from 1938, which is a exceptional sample of luxury of the time.
Between now and its inauguration, Tatoi can
hold new surprises,
vivid memories of a golden age, which Queen Sofia will surely be thrilled to meet again.
According to the criteria of The Trust Project
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