KORGIALENION EXECUTIVE COUNCIL

Korgialenion Executive Council was established by the Will (dated June 15th 1910) of the late Cephalonian Great Benefactor Marinos Korgialenios (1829-1911). Its stated purposes were the management and administration of : a) Argostoli's Korgialenios Library (article 27 of the Will), b) the Korgialenios Girl's Boarding House (article 25 of the Will), whose buildings and modern facilities with which they were equipped were funded by his generous donations, and c)the draining of the Koutavos swamp which was a constant cause of malaria outbreaks on the island; this last project which was according to article 28 of the Will to be carried out in cooperation with the Prefect of Cephalonia and the Mayor of Argostoli, was successfully completed before 1940.

The buildings that housed the Korgialenios Library and Girl's School were destroyed by the devastating earthquakes of 1953. Since then, the Korgialenios Council under the supervision of Vice President Marinos S. Cosmetatos, embarked on a inspired and long campaign to reconstruct these buildings. The results of these efforts are the following:

1) KORGIALENIOS LIBRARY BUILDING, rebuilt on the same parcel of land the the pre-earthquake building was originally erected, through the donations of founder Marinos Korgialenios. The building covers an area of 1170 square meters and its construction plan was developed by Civil Engineer Dimitrios Pavlatos, who also oversaw the actual construction work free of charge. Additional financing for the construction was provided by the generous donations of the late Great Benefactors of Cephalonia:

• Georgios Rokkou Vergotis, ship owner
• Evangelos A. Typaldos Basias, businessman
  

To a lesser extent, others contributed to the reconstruction as well; The Greek Army and the Greek Government.

KORGIALENIOS LIBRARY OPERATES ON THE GROUND FLOOR OF THE BUILDING (12 Ilia Zervou Street). Its book collection includes approximately 59.000 Greek and foreign language titles, covering the period of the 15th to the 20th century.

A special section of the Library houses almost all existing titles of Ionian bibliography as well as a collection of Ionian - primarily Cephalonian - newspapers and magazines.
The Library's book collection includes titles of general interest in every category (Literature, History, Law, Economics, Art), magazines, and an assortment of encyclopedias, dictionaries and children's books.

A large number of manuscripts, primarily associated with Byzantine and European ecclesiastic music, are safely kept in the Library. The oldest manuscripts is a 13th century Gospel and Souida's archetype dictionary, dated to 1499.

The Library's Ionian Bibliography Collection has been entered into the ABEKT electronic system. Input continues for the remaining titles using the DEWEY classification system.

The Library, under the Directorship of Mr. Elias Toumasatos, is staffed by Maria Lykoudi (1990), Georgia Rouhota (1973-1976), and Eleni Stellatou (1996).

The KORGIALENION LAOGRAPHIC MUSEUM (Folk Art Museum) operates in the basement of the building. It has been financed by the Great Benefactor Evangelos Basias and established by initiative and the volunteer work of Eleni M. Cosmetatou, who not only established it but continues to oversee its operation as President of the Museum Committee. The Museum has a staff of four: Ourania Kremmyda (1967-1979 and 1987, Aikaterini Maravegia (1990), Theotokoula Gasparatou (1994) and Eleni Gasparatou (1986). For her dedicated work, Mrs E. Cosmetatou was honored with the Award of the Athens Academy in 1974.

The Museum's purpose is the preservation of the historical and social conditions of Cephalonia prior to the 1953 earthquakes for the benefit of future generations.
All Museum signs are bilingual (Greek and English).

Museum publications include:

1. COSMETATOS, Helen. Sleeping accommodation in Cephalonia (1972)
   
2. Greek version of the above (1972)
   
3. COSMETATOY, Helen. The history of rural and urban costume in Cephalonia (1976)
   
4. Greek version of the above (1977)
   
5. RAVANIS, George. Byron in Cephalonia (1982)
   
6. Greek version of the above (1982)
   
7. VLACHOU, Eleana (Editor) Svoronos Commercial Archives (1879-1920) (1986) published in Greek
   
8. GORETI, Maria. The History of Book Donation from Florence to Athens University (in Greek, translated from Italian 1991)
   
9. COSMETATOU, Eleni. The Roads of Cephalonia 1810 - 1830 (1991) - in Greek
   
10. COSWMETATOU, Eleni - KREMMYDA, Ourania (Editor). The Frangiskos and Stefanos Valianos Collection (1993) - in Greek
    
11. COSMETATOS, Helen. The roads of Cephalonia (1995)
    
12. Mayiola (1996)

Korgialenion Museum exhibits include:

1. Copies of historical documents from French, Italian and British Archives
   
2. Portraits, oil paintings and collections of personal effects of historic personalities
   
3. Porcelain, silver and bronze utensils
   
4. Handicrafts, outdoor utensils.
   
5. Bedroom simulation
   
6. Water paintings, lithographs, maps, prints, floor plans of churches and historic fortresses.
   
7. Photography archive composed of 3.000 photographs of a) pre-earthquake Cephalonia, b) the 1953 eartquakes c) renowned Cephalonians living abroad whose activities are associated with the island d) photographic material of architectural interest and e)photographs of churches and ecclesiastic treasures
   
8. Works of Art: Wood carved church temples, ecclesiastic utensils, icons, etc
   
9. Coins
   
10. TEXTILES. Special exhibit section of men's and women's fashion from the 16th to the 19th century. Notarized witness accounts that provide information as to the names of many varieties of lace, etc
    
11. Musical Instruments
    
12. Historical documentation of commerce and maritime
    
13. Information Library of about 700 titles in Greek and other languages
    
14. Charokopos Hall with religious icons
    
15. Frangiskos and Stefanos Vallianos Collection Hall with donated icons, images, original editions of books with Lear, Cartwright paintings.
    
    

The Korgialenios Library Building also houses the KALLINIKI DENDRINOU SCHOLARSHIP FOUNDATION. The Foundation, up until the embezzlement of its funds by the former accountant El. Kombothekras against whom prosecution preceedings have been initiated, had provided the following scholarships to Cephalonian students:

The late Kalliniki Dendrinou Antonakaki was declared Great Benefactor of Korgialenion Executive Council by decree announced in the Council's General Meeting (protocol 840/14-9-1993) and her name has been posted to the honorary stone that lists the institution's Great Benefactors.

Her funeral in Athens on June 24th 1997 was attended by the Secretary of the Executive Council on behalf of the institution, who laid a wreath in her memory. In eulogizing her, the Secretary emphasized her humanistic and academic contribution to her homeland.

The honorary wall stone associated with the Korgialenios Library construction history has been placed among the other honorary stones dedicated to the Great Benefactors, and reads as follows:

THIS HERE STRUCTURE
WAS ERECTED
CONSEQUENT TO THE 1953
EARTHQUAKE DESTRUCTION
ON PLANS DEVELOPED AND SUPERVISED
WITHOUT A FEE
FROM CIVIL ENGINEER
DIMITRIOS PAVLATOS
WITH THE CONTRIBUTION & COLLABORATION OF THE
NATIONAL ARMY
GENEROUS MATERIAL ALLOTMENT
BY THE GOVERNMENT OF GREECE
DURING THE ADMINISTRATION OF
PRIME MINISTER KONSTANTINOS GEORGAKOPOULOS
AND THE GENEROUS DONATIONS OF
GEORGIOS R. VERGOTIS
AND
EVANGELOS A. TYPALDOS -BASIAS
DURING THE PRESIDENCY OF THE
KORGIALENION EXECUTIVE COUNCIL
BY METROPOLITAN IEROTHEOS
IN THE YEAR 1963

2) THE EVANGELOS BASIAS ANNEX, built on financing from the Great Benefactor Evangelos Basias, located next to the Korgialenios Library, includes a basement, ground floor and an incomplete upper floor.
The basement was used by the Local Historical Archive which was managed by the members of the Korgialenion Execuive Council. Its first Director was University Professor Georgios N. Moschopoulos, who stayed in this position until the Local Historical Archive came under the jurisdiction of the General National Archive in 1990.
The basement still houses the island's Notarized Archives dating from 1530 up until the time of the Union of the Ionian Islands with Greece.
There is a concert hall on the ground floor with two pianos, the temple of the original St. Andrew's Church in Kateleios donated by the Sdrin Family, and, a part of the katholikon wall of St. Andrew's at Karya dated to the 12th century. The ground floor also houses the Vallianos Brothers Gallery Hall which is filled with magnificent hagiographic art of the 15th to the 18th centuries, as well as other ecclesiastic objects.

3) THE KORGIALENIAN GIRL'S BOARDING HOUSE (ΟΤ 87/1 m2 2220) built on the same parcel that hosted, prior to the 1953 earthquakes, the Korgialenion Complex of Girl's School and Boarding House which was originally constructed through the donations of the founder Marinos Korgialenios.
The new building house the Girl's Boarding School from 1963 until 1975 when the institution ceased operation.
Part of the building is currently rented out to the Training School (IEK). The remaining building along with the surrounding grounds has been donated by the Korgialenion Executive Council to the government for housing the 2nd and 3rd High Schools of Argostoli.

The marble-set inscription reads as follows:

Α) CONSTRUCTION OF THE BUILDINGS:
KORGIALENION HIGH SCHOOL FOR GIRLS
IN ARGOSTOLI
AND KORGIALENION BOARDING HOUSE FOR GIRLS
IN ARGOSSTOLI "QUEEN FREDERICA"
THE FORMER ON A
GOVERNMENT SUBSIDY
FOR THE PLANS AND SUPERVISION
FINANCING PROVIDED FOR BY THE "ROYAL
PROVISION" OF GREECE
UNDER THE GRATIS PLANNING AND SUPERVISION
OF CIVIL ENGINEER
DIMITRIOS PAVLATOS
ON THE GROUNDS OF THE PRIOR TO THE
1953 EARTHQUAKE BUILDING
OF THE HIGHER KORGIALENION
BOARDING SCHOOL FOR GIRLS
DURING THE PRESIDENCY OF THE
KORGIALENION EXECUTIVE COUNCIL BY
METROPOLITAN IEROTHEOS
IN THE YEAR 1962

Β) THE BOARDING HOUSE WAS COMPLETED
THROUGH THE DONATION OF THE
GREAT BENEFACTOR
EVANGELOS A. BASIAS
IN MEMORY OF HIS WIFE

The Korgialenios institutions operate under: a.)the provisions of the Will of Marinos Korgialenios (June 15th 1910) and b.) the Presidential Decrees . 611/1979 (which defines "the approval of an Operational and Administrative Body of the Korgialenion Executive Council"), (FEK 181/1979), (FEK/Β/760/5-9-1995) P.D. 29/8/1995) and P.D. 319/1993 (FEK 718/Β/ 1993).

The biography of Marinos Korgialenios, the Great Benefactor and founder of Korgialenion Executive Council, was published by writer and historian of Cephalonia Aggelodionysis Dembonos, under the title of "Marinos Korgialenios, Argostoli, 1989". The biography was foreworded by the then Prefect of Cephalonia, Elias Beriatos. In his letter dated January 3rd 1990, the Most Reverend Metropolitan of Cephalonia Spyridon, as President of the Korgialenion Executive Counci, thanked the author.

Currently (2002), The Korgialenion Executive Council is composed of: The Metropolitan of Cephalonia Spyridon, President (1984), and members: Gerasimos A. Vandoros - Vice President (1954), Goulielmos Katsounis - General Secretary (1988), Georgios N. Moschopoulos (1993), Eleftherios Pagoulatos - Treasurer (1997), Panagiotis-Gerasimos F. Bazigos (2002) and Gerasimos Ballas (2002). Secretarial duties are carried out since 1947 by Gerasimos I. Stamatatos while acoounting duties are carried out by Aikaterini Antonellou (2000).

The operation of the aforementioned institutions, including the Korgialenion Executive Council operated Local Archive that has now come under government jurisdiction, aims at the spiritual development of Cephalonians, the restitution of history and folk tradition of Cephalonia and the Ionian region, the encouragement of historical research, and the provision of scholarships to needy Cephalonian students who demonstrate good scholastic performance.

The Great Benefactor Georgios R. Vergotis was characterized by two virtues, his faith in God and modesty towards his fellow men . Two admirable and concrete examples of this are cited: first, he financed the first antiseismic Church Complex in the earthquake- plagued Cephalonia after 1953 - the Church of Theotokos in his home village of Kourkoumelata. Second, he did no less than rebuild the entire village of Kourkoumelata to European standards of magnificence.

His humble character was revealed in his refusal to receive official honors from the Holy Synod in recognition of these deeds when visited for this purpose by the Ierotheos, the Metropolitan of Cephalonia at that time accompanied by then Secretary Gerasimos I. Stamatelatos. He simply claimed that " I did nothing so worthwhile, I merely attempted to incite other Cephalonians, more wealthy than myself, for the benefit of the earthquake plagued wonderful island of Cephalonia and its people, which was eliminated along with its culture by the 1953 earthquakes"

As for the other Great Benefactor Evangelos Basias, an essay titled "A Favor for a favor" Argostoli 1991, was written by the Theologist Geogios Ravanis with an foreword by the Metropolitan of Cephalonia and President of the Korgialenion Executive Council, the Most Reverend Spyridon.

Every one of the Great Benefactors, with first and foremost the founder of the Korgialenion Executive Council Marinos Korgialenios,- whose bequests benefitted a multiple of other institutions in Cephalonia and Greece in general - were noted for their modesty, their faith in God, and their documented love and compassion for their fellow men. For this, their memory and works are eternal.