Nikos Kazantzakis' piano

The Thirathen Museum of Traditional Musical Instruments presents the historic piano that belonged to Nikos and Eleni Kazantzakis. It is a unique instrument with ebony and ivory keys, which now graces the museum and, symbolically, returns to the birthplace of the great Greek writer and thinker.

The donor, artist and art historian Vanna Karamaouna, gave a moving speech about her close personal bond with Eleni Kazantzakis, who gave her the piano when she was a child and they both lived in Geneva. The donation of this unique instrument to the Thirathen Museum is a great honour for Heraklion and for Cretan culture.

Closely tied to the lives of Nikos and Eleni Kazantzakis, the piano now stands just a few metres from the Martinengo Bastion, where the writer is buried. It has returned to where it belongs: inside the Venetian walls of Heraklion, the heart of Crete.