Tinos’ Marble Marvels

Have you ever looked at a beautifully carved piece of marble and marvelled at the smooth grooves and sculpted curves?

At Tinos’ Museum of Marble Craft, you can walk through the processes that takes a large, rough marble monolith from a quarry to how it turns into an elegant and timeless piece of design, through the tools, mechanical equipment, plaster of Paris copies and artist sketches, plus examples of everyday marble objects.

Located in Pirgos, located near the centre of the island of Tinos in the Cyclades, the Museum of Marble Craft also looks at the historical and cultural significance of marble, with particular reference to Tinos itself where Tinian marble and the skilled Tinos craftsmen contributed to marble construction of cities such as Athens in the 19^th century.

With the weight of marble a logistical challenge, the museum also showcases the mechanics of removing marble from a quarry including equipment on show such as hoisting machines, trollies and wagon-trucks.

What is also interesting for young visitors and old, is the opportunity for a tactile experience with marble and to get up close to these large pieces of marble, to touch and feel their surface. You can also examine with magnifying glasses their unique texture including seeing the unique crystals and ribbons of colour throughout the stones.

From vast Doric columns to tiny, intricately carved religious artefacts, beautifully smooth busts and imposing door lintels, the Museum of Marble Craft in Tinos reveals the surprising malleability of this revered material.