For the eighth year, the Onasis Library Ωνάσειος Βιβλιοθήκη participates at Open House Athens, one of the most important international institutions dedicated to showcasing and promoting architecture, inviting us to discover both the history of a neoclassical building from 1905 and the treasures housed within it. There, Homer “meets” Voltaire and Rigas Velestinlis, and C. P. Cavafy meets Sappho and Jane Austen.

The Onassis Library, with its six collections, more than 10,000 volumes, and a wealth of archival material, offers a journey through time and into unknown aspects of Greek—and beyond—history, serving as a repository of rare sources, books, and archives. The Onassis Library’s spaces are adorned with more than 60 works of art from the Onassis Collection. Paintings, sculptures, and unique objects engage with the past and the surrounding space, creating a distinctive landscape of unique aesthetic appeal.

Behind the Onassis Library, the Cavafy Archive, In the Plaka neighborhood, for the third consecutive year, the public is invited to discover the space that houses the world of C.P. Cavafy. The listed 1910 building of the Cavafy Archive, located at 16 Frynichou Street, opens its doors to reveal a world containing more than 2,000 artifacts and 966 books by C.P. Cavafy, framed by works of art that offer the opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of his ever-growing influence on artists from his time to the present day.

The Cavafy Archive comprises five rooms open to the public: one room displaying the poet’s personal belongings, one room featuring objects, books, and works of art referencing Cavafy’s work; a room dedicated to Cavafy’s Athens; a room with contemporary works inspired by the poet; and the Reading Room. The archive and library are housed in a specially designed space, in accordance with standard archival practice, within the new facility.