Villa Zografou, Private residence in Zografou Municipality, Greece.
Villa Zografou stands on a 20-stremma estate near the centre of the Zografou municipality in Athens, at the junction of Al. Papagou and G. Zografou avenues. The villa is one of the distinctive buildings put up in the area after Zografou became a community, alongside the villas of Kostas Zografou, Bonaparte and Voutyra. The grounds were designated a public space in 1974.
Ioannis Zografos, a member of Theodoros Diligiannis's party, bought a large estate here in the early 19th century and in 1902 sold most of its plots, keeping the land at the junction of Al. Papagou and G. Zografou avenues. In 1974 the estate was first designated a public space, but compensation to the Zografos heirs stalled expropriation for decades. In 2011 collectives occupied the villa; the municipality sealed it on 13 March 2017, and a year later accepted the family's donation, ending a dispute of nearly 44 years.
The estate is named after Ioannis Zografos, who bought the land in the early 19th century and sold most of it in 1902, keeping the plot at the junction of Al. Papagou and G. Zografou avenues. From November 2011 until 13 March 2017 the villa was occupied and run as a self-managed space, with weekly open assemblies, a collective kitchen using vegetables from the shared garden, film screenings, rebetiko music events and a bicycle workshop.
The estate covers 20 stremmata near the centre of Zografou, at the junction of Al. Papagou and G. Zografou avenues. The grounds were sealed off by the municipality on 13 March 2017 for redevelopment, so the park and villa are not open to visitors. Plans call for joining the site with nearby Peace Park and Sotiriou Zografou square.
The 20-hectare estate was first designated a public space in 1974, but the expropriation stalled for decades over compensation to the Zografos heirs. From November 2011 until 13 March 2017 the villa was occupied and run as a self-managed space, with weekly open assemblies, a collective kitchen supplied by a shared garden, a bike workshop and rebetiko music events.
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