Overview

• Photos taken on August 1 showed a tourist lifting a marble fragment from the Portara gateway on Naxos, sparking local outrage over disrespectful behavior.
• The Portara is the sole surviving part of an unfinished 530 BC temple to Apollo on Palatia islet and remains free to enter without ticketing or formal security.
• Mayor Dimitris Lianos alerted the Ministry of Culture, which has stationed a guard at the site pending further management decisions.
• Naxos officials and residents have submitted plans to the Culture Ministry proposing organized restoration along with ticketing and security measures to generate revenue and protect the landmark.
• Additional images circulating online showed tourists setting up makeshift bars on the ruins, underscoring growing concerns about heritage sites left without supervision.