Thessaloniki Casa Bianca

Location: Vasilissis Olgas Avenue
Don't miss: Museums guide (free admission dates and other useful info)

The Municipal Gallery of Thessaloniki was founded in 1961 but officially opened in 1966. From 1986 to 2010 it was housed in Villa Mordoch, situated a bit further from Casa Bianca. In 2010 it was transferred to the Cultural Centre in Toumba, where it remained until 2013, when it was finally moved to Casa Bianca.

The gallery's collection of paintings, sculptures, engravings, drawings, prints, and photographs, spanning the last 150 years, numbers around 3,000 works and continues to evolve. More specifically, the Municipal Gallery of Thessaloniki boasts the following collections:
• The collection of Modern Greek Paintings, presenting works of eminent painters like Nikos Engonopoulos, Giorgos Gounaropoulos, Spyros Papaloukas and Nikos Kessanlis, among many others.
• The collection of works by Nikolaos Gyzis, Created after the donation of 627 of his works from his family • Collection of lithographs by Sotiris Christides The Municipality of Thessaloniki has purchased 205 lithographs and numerous printed matters by the popular illustrator from the Dourvaris family.
• The collection of engravings, including 660 works created by Tassos, Vaso Katraki, Georgios Sikeliotis and other known engravers, some of which are exhibited in Casa Bianca.
• The sculpture collection, featuring a variety of sculptures made by Kyriakos Kabadakis, Georgios Kikotis, Karolos Kabelopoulos, and others.

Note that the gallery hosts periodic exhibitions from its permanent collections or in cooperation with other institutions in two more exhibition spaces except for Casa Bianca - the Alaca Imaret and the Yeni Mosque.

The story behind Casa Bianca

Casa Bianca was one of the most impressive mansions in the area of Epoches along with Villa Allatini. It was owned by Dino Joseph Fernandez Diaz and was built between 1911 and 1913 following the plans of Italian architect Pietro Arrigoni. Fernandez Diaz was a wealthy Italian citizen and an elite member of Thessaloniki’s Jewish community. The house was named Casa Bianca after his wife. The couple had three children, Nina, Pierre, and Aline.
The romance between Aline and Spyros Alibertis, a Greek officer, is an important part of the mansion’s backstory. The prevailing conservatism in 1912 would not approve such a marriage, i.e. between a Christian and a Jewess. That resulted in the voluntary abduction of Aline by Spyros, her christening, and the celebration of their marriage in Athens in 1914. Despite how bold that was, the couple's relationship with Aline's parents was restored after some time so Aline returned with her husband to Thessaloniki and settled in her family home.

Blanche died in Paris in 1934. A few years later, after World War II broke out, Dino, Pierre and Pierre’s family fled to Italy as they were Italian nationals. They were executed by the Germans there in 1943. During the Occupation, Casa Bianca was requisitioned by the Italians and then the German army. Between 1964 and 1967, the floor was rented to house a kindergarten and primary school. Spyros and Aline lived in the villa until their late years, with their deaths occurring shortly apart from one another in the 1960s. After Aline's death in 1965, her home passed to her sister Nina, who sold it.

In 1976, the mansion was declared a listed monument. The start of its partial destruction with the aim of its declassification and final demolition was then. Thankfully, after many measures to save Casa Bianca and its surroundings, the villa was transferred to the Municipality of Thessaloniki in 1990. The local authorities proceeded to commission a special restoration study and then moved on to the building’s restoration.