On the occasion of the exhibition “Achaia in the Greek Revolution of 1821: Narration of events through the documents of the Municipal Library of Patras“, an accompanying printed publication in 1000 copies was released, which according to the words of the Mayor of Patras Kostas Peletidis, “is a continuation of the valuable effort of the Cultural Organization, in order to highlight the history of our city, of Achaia as a whole and of our region, bringing citizens in contact with a material that is worth approaching“.

Like the successful exhibition, the present accompanying book is chronologically structured following the steps of the revolution from its birth to the establishment of the new Greek state. The head of the Patras Municipal Library and curator of the project, Katerina Kourou, recalls the aims of the exhibition: “The aim of the exhibition is to remind the viewer of the events that prepared the revolution of 1821, but mainly the events during its beginning and development in the wider area of the region of Achaia and to challenge him to search for answers to the questions that arise regarding the causes that brought it about“.

Ultimately, what made the exhibition stand out and makes the accompanying catalogue a valuable asset for every collector is the fact that it departs from stereotypical clichés and focuses on the Greek Revolution through popular art. President Katerina Geropanagioti-Theodorakopoulou summarizes: “It is an art that starts and ends with the people, based on direct experience, but also on tradition. It is in this art that the relations of production that had been formed in the pre-revolutionary period, their evolution during the revolutionary period and the first years after the revolution, the conditions of life, everyday life, the dynamics, the decisive role played in all this by the popular factor are best reflected.”