A building with the mural entitled ‘Kalamata’ depicting opera legend Maria Callas by artist Kleomenis Kostopoulos is seen in Kalamata town, about 240 kilometers (150 miles) southwest of Athens, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. Petros Giannakouris
Long associated with olives, sea breezes and sun-bleached stone, the southern Greek city of Kalamata has found fresh international attention — this time through public art.
Olives and opera collide in award-winning Kalamata mural
A monumental mural in the city centre has been named 2025’s “Best Mural of the World” by Street Art Cities, a platform dedicated to celebrating urban art across the globe. The towering artwork reimagines legendary soprano Maria Callas as an allegorical embodiment of Kalamata itself.
Set roughly 240 kilometres southwest of Athens, Kalamata is internationally recognised for its olives, figs and grapes — produce that also features prominently in the mural’s composition. For city officials, this was no decorative flourish but a deliberate narrative choice.
Vassilis Papaefstathiou, deputy mayor for strategic planning and climate neutrality, explains that Kalamata is among a small group of Greek cities aiming to become climate-neutral by 2030. The mural emerged from a desire to translate complex policy language — sustainable development, agri-food innovation and local economic resilience — into something residents could see and relate to.
“We wanted it to reflect a clear message of what sustainable development means for a regional city such as Kalamata,” he says. By pairing globally recognised agricultural products with a towering cultural figure, the city hoped to instil pride while reinforcing identity.
Southern Greece has faced mounting environmental pressures in recent years, including heatwaves, droughts and wildfires that threaten the olive groves underpinning the local economy. Against this backdrop, the mural’s symbolism feels especially resonant.
Callas, widely regarded as one of the greatest opera singers of the 20th century, occupies a near-mythic place in Greek cultural life. Although born in New York to Greek immigrant parents, her father hailed from a village south of Kalamata — a connection locals consider meaningful. The city’s music school alumni association bears her name, and its cultural centre houses an exhibition dedicated to her life and archive.
Artist Kleomenis Kostopoulos chose not to create a stylised diva portrait. Instead, he titled the work “Kalamata” and approached Callas as an allegory. Branches — which he describes as the visible extension of roots — frame her form, while native birds and agricultural motifs are woven into her dress.
“The dress I create on Maria Callas in ‘Kalamata’ is essentially all of this bloom and fruition,” he says. “The blessed land that Kalamata itself has is where all of these elements come from.”
The mural took approximately two weeks of concentrated work, spread across a month due to poor weather. Kostopoulos relied mainly on brushes, supplementing them with spray paint and a cherry-picker to scale the building’s height.
Since its unveiling, the artwork has become a focal point in the city. Officials say it has strengthened Kalamata’s visibility as a tourist destination, while also encouraging conversations about art in public space. Several building owners have already expressed interest in commissioning further murals.
For many residents, the accolade carries symbolic weight. The award may celebrate artistic excellence, but locally it represents something broader: a fusion of land, legacy and ambition painted boldly onto the urban landscape.
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