The first Komboloi (or worry beads) Museum – said to be the only one worldwide – was founded in Nafplio in 1998 by Aris and Rallou Evangelinos, who have been collecting and studying the history of komboloi since 1958. The museum has had more than 55.000 visitors so far and the unique collection consists of approximately 1500 kombolois (from Asia Minor, Greece, Syria, Egypt, Turkey, Persia, etc.) that date from 1700 to 1950 and are made of various precious and rare materials. On the ground floor there is the workshop where old kombolois are repaired and new, either original or copies of the old ones, are produced.
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In a beautiful historic building that served as the first military school in Greece, on the middle of Amalias str. Hosting war relics, guns, maps, paintings and photographs from the Greek revolution till the Second World War.
PFF or PLI in Greek
The permanent exhibition at the museum is dedicated to the “Greek town – Nafplio 1822-1922”. On the ground floor, miscellaneous museum items are presented in a daring and free arrangement in order to emphasize on the multiformity of the collections, while one can also visit the new expanded museum shop.
The first parliament of the Greek nation, right south of the Syntagma Sq, earlier used as an Ottoman Jami.
The museum is right on Syntagma Square, in a Venetian building of 1714 with impressive stone arches. It was renovated and restored internally and externally, reopening October 2008 after 5 years. It includes new showcases and exhibits, accessibility and facilities for people with disabilities, and air-conditioning. In the new multimedia hall you can see documentary films, whereas children can take part in the regular programs that take place. The most important exhibit of the museum is the impressive bronze armor suit dating back to the 13th century BC and once worn by a Mycenaean soldier. Get the full story in the multimedia hall and travel through time to the era of ancient Greece.