In a Facebook post, Nikos Vardas's first cousin, the distinguished expatriate George Vardas, bids him farewell. Read his text:
«It is with great sadness that I bid farewell to my first cousin, Nikos Vardas, who sadly passed away in Kythira, ironically almost 50 years after we first met in the winter of 1973.
Nikos worked for many years as an art conservator at the Byzantine Antiquities Department on the island of Kythira and devoted his life to protecting the island's numerous cultural monuments.
He was involved in establishing the Collection of Byzantine and Post-Byzantine Art of Kythira, which is housed in the Byzantine church of the Ascension in Kato Livadi and includes frescoes salvaged from local churches in danger of collapse, fragments of early Christian mosaics, Byzantine icons, and ceramics. The works on display include an impressive icon of Panagia Glykofilousa (dating from the 17th century) recovered from the Castle of Mylopotamos.
From the late 1970s until his retirement, Nikos Vardas headed the Local Conservation Workshop of the Ephorate, and his work has been recognized as greatly facilitating the ongoing maintenance of monuments.
As soon as the museum opened, Nikos showed me this exquisite collection, and his immense pride was evident on his face.
Nikos was also a devoted family man. His wife Mary was literally the love of his life, and they had two children, Panagiotis Vardas, a doctor, and Elina Vardas-Drakaki.
Varda's house is the last property you pass before crossing the famous bridge in Katouni, and it has always been impeccably maintained. Nikos was also a skilled gardener and farmer.
Kythira has lost one of its great men. Farewell, dear cousin. Your memory will live on forever.
