Nominee for the European Museum of the Year Award 2012 (European Museum Award 2012), is the Archaeological Museum of Ioannina. The museum was visited last September by members of the Jury of the European Museum Forum (EMF) which is under the auspices of the Council of Europe and specifically the ladyShirley Collier director of the Scarborough Museum of Britain and Mr.Michael Ryan, head of ICOM in Ireland, who expressed their admiration both for his exhibition and for its organization.

The aim of the award is to promote innovative museum practice andoffer quality public services to all categories of visitors. In the past, in fact, the Folk Art Museum of Nafplio has been honored with the EMYA First Prize (1981) and with the Council of Europe Award the Museum of Byzantine Culture of Thessaloniki (2005).

The Archaeological Museum of Ioannina highlights through its seven main halls and in addition the central corridor and three atriums (total area 1.200 T. m.) about the 3.000 archaeological findings covering a long period of time, since the first appearance of man in Epirus, during the Lower Paleolithic era (before 250.000 years) as well as the west of late antiquity in late Roman times (3century AD. X.).

However, special emphasis is placed on the findings of the sanctuary of Dodoni, which are exhibited in a room dedicated exclusively to one of the most important oracles of the Greek world. The structure of the exhibition is based on three axes: a timeline, a geographical and a thematic one which as they intertwine, run through the museological flow, trying to highlight the special physiognomy and course of the region during antiquity.

It should be noted that the 2012 are completed 35 years since the institution of the European award.

Source : tovima.gr