HCR Team
Vasilis Stathakis
Born in Chania, Crete, Greece, Vasilis Stathakis is the Founder and Honorary President of the Historic Cafés Route and the host of the iconic Historic Café “Kipos” in Chania. He used to be President of HCR until December 2022. He is a cultural heritage admirer and in 1988 he became owner of the business and took over the Historic Café “Kipos”, an important reference point of the city, established in 1870. Vasilis has been operating in the food and drink sector for 50 years. In 2015 he contcacted Mr. Stefano Dominioni for the first time, in order to design his strategy for the Historic Cafés Route.
Being a visionary and pioneer, Vasilis founded the European Historic Cafés Association (2014) which evolved to the Historic Cafés Route (2020). He has been honored to host the upcoming “Cultural Routes” international forum of the Council of Europe in Chania, in 2022. On February 7th 2018 he submitted a proposal to the Hellenic Ministry of Foreign Affairs suggesting the establishment of the 8th of April as the International Day of Historic Cafés and has been working on this project ever since. In February 2018 he submitted a proposal to the Hellenic Ministries of Culture and Development, to promote the creation of a specific cultural sector in the Regions and Chambers of Commerce and Industry in Greece, to further enhance cultural development. In 2021 Vasilis submitted his proposals about the cultural and touristic betterment of the city of Chania. He has constantly been participating in cultural routes fora since 2015 and was keynote speaker on the occasion of the anniversary event for the Historic Café Calcinha, in Loule (2019). He was keynote speaker at the joint meeting, under the Hellenic Presidency, of the BSEC Working Groups on Culture and on Cooperation in Tourism which was held (2019) in Istanbul and saw the participation of representatives from BSEC Member States. He was keynote speaker at the inauguration of the Italian Association for the Protection of Historic Literary Cafés in Trieste (2018), and a keynote speaker at the “Historic Cafés: Cultural Heritage throughout time” International Conference held in Santiago de Compostela (2018), and at “The contribution of the Historic Cafés to the European Cultural Heritage” forum held in Coimbra (2018). He also attended the 66th Meeting of the UNWTO (2021).
In 2022 Vasilis achieved the inclusion of the element “Historic Cafés” in the national list of Intangible Cultural Heritage by order of Mrs. Lina Mendoni, Greek Minister of Culture and Sports. This is an official acknowledgement of the efforts made by “Historic Cafés Route ” to defend, preserve, highlight and promote the intangible cultural heritage of Historic Cafés, which have always been the custodians of the tradition of Cafés and of their culture. The inclusion in the national list of Intangible Cultural Heritage is the first step for the inscription on the International List, considering there are already countries that, together with Greece, are interested to submit an application for international registration. The application for inscription on the International List has been Vasilis’s idea and an initiative put forward by Greece.
Angela Drakou
“When you are going to dive into something, make it clear inwardly what kind of thing you are going to do.”
Epiktitos “Manual” for life.
Angela Drakou was born in Komotini in 1966. With an Executive Diploma in Business Administration, she started her career in the field of cultural management, at the Thracian Spiritual Center – Thracian Conservatory of Komotini, as administrative director, a position she holds to this day.
At the same time, she pursued a second career and, as conscious choice, she sought the independence and freedom offered by self-employment. Thus she was actively involved in the catering sector, taking over with her brother Christos Drakos and Stamatis Kioutsoukis the emblematic “Lesxi Komotinaion”, restoring and putting into full operation the homonymous Historic building – landmark of Komotini, providing high quality catering services and organizing cultural events.
Angela Drakou was also President of the Rotary Club of Komotini “Rodopi” for 2 consecutive years as well as Assistant President in Rotary District 2484.
December 21rst she was elected as President of the certified by the Council of Europe “Historic Cafés Route” with a concrete and clear European vision and the desire to continue the work of the Founder of HCR, Vasilis Stathakis.
Her motto is “the best CV is the imprint of our actions and our achievements that we succeeded in our live’s journey”
Angela Drakou speaks Engilsh, French, German, her mother tongue is Greek and she has deep knowledge of classical music.
Alexandros Delithanassis
Alexandros Delithanassis was born in Trieste in 1979 from Greek father and Italian mother.
After studying economics, he worked with his father in the family publishing house. Together with his father in 2006 they also open a bookstore until 2013 when Alexandros takes over the Antico Caffè San Marco of 1914 and moved the bookstore inside, making it immediately a place of great tourist and cultural attraction.
He is also the official Representative of Historic Cafés Route in Italy.
Dimitris Kondoleon
Born in Athens in 1980 he is originated from the island of Kythera.
In 2006 he took the decision to settle permanently on the island and although quite young in age he took over the management of the most historic Café in Kythera (“Astikon”), a unique Café with a history of over a century.
He has professional activities in the field of catering and together with his sister he runs three businesses in the field of catering and entertainment.
He served as a municipal councilor, as head of a municipal party in the Municipality of Kythera and Antikythera.
George Loverdos
George Loverdos, born in Athens, has a varied, insightful background in European traditions and culture, being fluent in Greek, English, French and Spanish. George’s academic studies in political science and defense resulted in a postgraduate degree (DEA) from the University of Strasbourg. His attendance at seminars, combined with his experience both as a journalist and photographer, further deepen his insight and understanding of the European worldview. Currently, as the Manager of the Historic Cafés Route, George strongly believes that culture should unite people, not divide them.
Together with Maria Mystakidou, they presented on May 5, 2022 the dossier of the Historic Cafés Route in Luxembourg, achieving the certification of the Route as a Cultural Route of the Council of Europe.
Maria Mystakidou
Passionate about journalism, she is following this path with dedication and solid principles; She is working for the Historic Cafés Route since 2017 acknowledging the importance of culture, heritage and the exchange of ideas and approaches for the maintenance of the European principles and spirit; She has a degree in European Civilization from the Open University of Greece and she is a candidate for Master’s degree in Creative Writing from the same institution. Her professional background is mainly encompassed in “Eleftherotypia” one of Greece’s most renowned newspapers. She maintained a daily column, as well as a weekly one, and she was chief in editor at the website of the newspaper; she has worked as a communication officer & events organizer for the unique Typography museum in Chania. During her time the museum gained international recognition and was nominated for one of the best museums in Europe (2016); she has translated books from French to Greek and she was a freelance journalist during the 2004 Olympic games for the AFP (Agence France Presse). Her love for journalism is constant, undeniable and rooted deep in her lifestyle, as such she maintains two dedicated columns weekly at “Chaniotika Nea” newspaper; she has a continuous interest in culture, arts and literature. She speaks English and French and her mother tongue is Greek.
Together with George Loverdos, they presented on May 5, 2022 the dossier of the Historic Cafés Route in Luxembourg, achieving the certification of the Route as a Cultural Route of the Council of Europe.
Vitor de Sá Marques
Vitor Marquez is a member of HCR Audit Committee and HCR Ambassador in Portugal.
He is President of the Portuguese Historic Cafés Association and member of the fiscal council of the RUAS Association (University of Coimbra and Municipality of Coimbra). Since 2005 he is also the manager of the iconic Café Santa Cruz in Coimbra (Portugal).
He has a degree in economics from the University of Coimbra (1995) and postgraduate in tourism management from E.S.E.C. – Institute Polytechnic of Coimbra (2012). He organized the European meeting “Historic Cafés as Cultural Heritage”, in Coimbra (April 2018). He was responsible for the editorial conception of many books as well as speaker and teacher to many seminars and conventions, regarding tourism, culture, alimentation, and tradition. He has recently participated in the 2nd Lisbon Coffee Fest, Lisbon, with the communications: The Historic Cafés Route in Portugal and The Historic Cafés as Cultural Heritage: The Example of Café Santa Cruz (Coimbra) (March 2022). He has been awarded in 2020 by the European Cultural Tourism Network (ECTN), with the 1st prize in the category of “Transnational Thematic Tourism Products” with the project: The Historic Cafés in the Iberian Peninsula
Fernando Franjo Franjo
Fernando Franjo Franjo is a journalist and a cultural promoter. He has a degree in History from the University of Santiago de Compostela and a master’s degree in tourism journalism. Specialist in the study of Historic Cafés, he has written in the media and has participated in events in different European countries. He is the author of the books “Fifty Historic Cafés in Spain and Portugal and Memorias do Café Derby”. In 2018 he organized the international “Os Cafés, patrimonio Cultural a través do Tempo” meeting in Santiago de Compostela, the first event to be held in Spain on Cafés and Heritage. In 2020 he obtained, in a joint candidacy with the Portuguese Association of Cafés with History, the prize of the European Cultural Tourism Network (ECTN) for the proposal of a network of Historical Cafés in the Iberian Peninsula.
Raffaela Caria
Born in Acqui Terme, Italy, she covered the role of Executive Secretary of the European Historical Thermal Towns Association (EHTTA), a Cultural Route certified by the Council of Europe from 2010 to 2019, where she acquired an important knowledge in managing cultural and tourist resources in terms of cultural projects and developed an important network in that field. She’s currently the referent and spokesperson for EHTTA with the Italian Ministry of Culture in the framework of the Cultural Routes Programme. She has always shown a particular interest in culture, history and arts in a European dimension. This European approach to life influenced her studies and allowed her to travel at the discovery of the old continent and its diverse cultures.