All about Zakynthos

In Solomou Square stands the statue of Dionysios Solomos, the work of Nikolaos Perantinos and Eleftherios Panousis, which was constructed at the expense of the Association of Greek Writers, and was placed in 1957, in the same place and on the base where the original statue was located. The Poet is depicted standing on a high pedestal. He is depicted as being of mature age, wearing formal clothes and a robe while wearing a laurel wreath on his head. He stands on his left foot, while his right foot projects loosely forward. With his left hand he holds a wrapped manuscript and protrudes his right hand forward, in a pose that has been interpreted many times with the characteristic mocking spirit of the Zakynthians. It is a classicist work, placed up high, his gaze not meeting the viewer's, in a haughty pose. The imposing statue of the National Poet, until recently, was projected and dominated the centre of the large square. Today, after its total redevelopment, it has lost its original spatial semiotics.  The original work was placed in 1902 during the celebrations for the centenary of the birth of Dionysios Solomos and was created by Georgios Vroutos (1843-1908). The work suffered several damages in the earthquakes of '53, (the statue fell to the ground, where the head and part of the arm were detached, while the pedestal remained upright), and was restored in 1990, in the workshop of the sculptor Stelios Triantis (1931-1999). Today it is located in the lobby of the Museum of Solomos & Eminent Zakynthians.