The Metropolitan Palace of the First Metropolis of Fthiotida is one of the most important buildings in Lamia. The building has undergone several construction phases starting from the pre-revolutionary years. After the revolution it passed into the ownership of Stefanos Sklivaniotis (1793-1875) a member of the friendly company. In 1870 it was sold by his sons to the National Bank of Greece, which housed it until 1924. This year it was bought by the Holy Diocese of Fthiotida. Its current form has emerged after the extensive intervention of 1936 under the Metropolitan of Fthiotida Ambrosios Nikolaidis in plans of the architect Ath. Demiris. It is an example of late eclecticism where various morphological elements are combined, such as the tower-like ends, the toxils, the central entrance with a strong decorative lintel and the window frames. Its total area is 950 m2. Its floor plan is rectangular with general dimensions 21.80 x 10.00 m. With the long side on the road. At the back a table building has been added that follows the sloping border of the plot. It consists of basement, ground floor, first and second floor. The top floor does not occupy the entire contour of the floor plan leaving a large terrace on its east side. The dominant element is the tower-like architectural protrusion in the northeast corner of the first floor, which marks it from Eleftherias Square. The building has been characterized as protected by the Government Gazette 430 ΔΔ / 15-07-1999 according to the decision 103326/1281 / 15.12.1996 of the Ministry of Environment. It was judged to be fully preserved in the form it acquired after the 1935 operation. document of the Ministry of Culture. with no. 2843/71824. 14-08-2006. The restoration was aimed at restoring it to its original form in 1935 with the maximum possible preservation of authentic elements from various construction periods. As a Metropolitan Palace it houses the archives of the Diocese in the basement, an exhibition space on the ground floor, the throne room and the reception area with the dining room on the first floor. The last level is the private residence of the Metropolitan and the hospitality of guests.

Client : Holy Metropolis of Fthiotida
Location : Lamia
Design : 2006
Construction : 2009
Study stage : Metric documentation,Final study, Implementation study
Design team : Manolis Votsis, Philippos Gerontakis, Dimitra Bouga, Antonis Krasas
Collaboration with the office : Vasilis Karamalis
Static study: Alexandros Athanasiadis
Electromechanical study: E-M Design EU

photo source 1, Benaki Archive.