At the junction of Stournari and Patision streets, in the heart of Athens, in the apartment of the historic building, two great artists lived in an important space of creativity, humanity and historical memory. Sophia Vembo and Mimis Traiforos lived for many years in the apartment opposite the Polytechnic, leaving behind them not only artistic work but also a deep human imprint.
This particular apartment, to this day, continues to move those who know its history. The current resident of the house, Takis Doxas – Lambrinopoulos, who is familiar with the history of the house, notes, speaking to AP, “our family feels particularly proud to live and breathe in this house where the great Greek Sophia Vembo lived for 28 years. We are visited by primary and secondary schools and the students get to know the house from one corner to the other.”
“All the walls were full of history”
The couple’s nephew and biographer, Vassilis Traiforos, visited his uncles’ house very often as a child. His personal testimonies uniquely capture the atmosphere of that time: “Upon entering you were in a spacious hall. On the left was the large living room with a balcony overlooking Patision Street. To the right of the hall, the door led you to the uncle’s office,” he explains and continues, “what always struck me was that all the walls of their apartment were suffocatingly full of photographs, frames with honorary diplomas, awards, medals and many theatre memorabilia. Each one and a great story from Greece.”
Through these descriptions, a space full of memories and images of an entire era of Greek culture comes alive again. “Memories of the smells of the house come to mind. The uncle always freshly – shaved smelling lemon cologne. And the aunt always wearing her axe smelling the powder she used to put on. That day I remember something was cooking and there was a light yet beautiful smell of food coming from the kitchen. She loved to cook and was an excellent cook,” he notes.
The house that became a shelter on the night of the Polytechnus
Vembo’s house was also associated with one of the most dramatic moments in modern Greek history: the night of the Polytechnic uprising. Takis Doxas – Labrinopoulos points out that, “after the main entrance there is a room of 15 sqm. In this room Sophia Vembo protected ten students on that night of the Polytechnic. A security check was made, but the single wallpaper had covered the door of the hiding room.”
Vassilis P. Traiforos, relaying the accounts he heard from his uncle, says that, “Every time I went to their apartment I would close the door and recall what my uncle had told me about the night of the Polytechnic. I was trying to bring back the image of that night, when the fearless Vembo drove out the junta’s Praetorians and saved the wounded they were hosting that night.”
As he clarifies, “this apartment was not theirs, they lived there with rent. They never made their own property as due to their excessive altruism, they gave wherever they saw a need. The only thing they owned was the BEMPO theatre which they built after touring America and Africa.”
“The House is a profit-making venture for the Editor’s Lottery. The House in question was won by an Athenian who bought the Editor’s Lottery in Omonia. In 1991 it was purchased by my wife’s father Petros Magfiakos. Our family moved in 2009,” explains Takis Doxas – Labrinopoulos.
Today, at the entrance of the building there is a commemorative marble inscription, “At the entrance of the building on Stournari Street, a marble inscription has been placed to remind younger people that “This is where S. VEBO”. For the same house Mimi wrote the play “Stournara 288″. After the death of Aunt Sofia, Uncle Mimis left and rented an apartment in Ano Patissia,” notes Vassilis P. Traiforos.
