Athens to hide sculptures after busts go missing

Tourists take pictures in front of the Athens Academy adorned with sculputures depicting ancient greek philosophers , Plato (L) and Sokrates (R) on June 10, 2016. Athens is to store away dozens of outdoor sculptures after five brass busts went missing last month and a marble statue was vandalised in the area. "We have pinpointed 49 sculptures that are in a vulnerable position," Mayor Yiorgos Kaminis told a news conference on June 9. Officials suspect the five brass busts of early 20th century Greek poets and writers were removed by smelters as a number of pavement curb box covers, which give access to utility pipes and wiring, have recently disappeared. LOUISA GOULIAMAKI / AFP.

ATHENS (AFP).- Athens is to store away dozens of outdoor sculptures after five brass busts went missing last month and a marble statue was vandalised, officials have said. "We have pinpointed 49 sculptures that are in a vulnerable position," Mayor Yiorgos Kaminis told a news conference on Thursday. "We are examining the temporary withdrawal of some (of them) and their replacement with copies." Officials suspect the five brass busts of early 20th century Greek poets and writers were removed by smelters as a number of pavement curb box covers, which give access to utility pipes and wiring, have recently disappeared.

Authorities have in recent years struggled to restore many of the capital's 200 or so outdoor sculptures from recurring vandalism. A statue that had its limbs and head smashed in April near the city centre had just been cleaned up with EU funds, Kaminis said.

A woman reads on a bench next to a bust of a former Greek professor and prime minister tagged by an anarchistic symbol by the Athens Academy on June 10, 2016. LOUISA GOULIAMAKI / AFP.

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