Atoneli Presidential Palace Opens to Visitors

The President's Atoneli residence is now open to visitors, Salome Zurabishvili, President of Georgia, announced at a conference of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe last week.

“The Presidential Palace is opening from today. There should be a place for the Diaspora in the capital of Georgia where they can get useful information. For this purpose, I am ready to give them an office in the President’s Palace. I suggest the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia appoint a person for that reason," she said. 

GEL 1,199.558 was spent on the purchase of antique furniture and interior accessories for the Administration of the President of Georgia, GEL 255,000 was spent on the restoration and GEL 720,225 was spent on the purchase of modern furniture, lighting and curtains, the Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) stated.

The most expensive antique item purchased for the Atoneli residence is reported to have been a 19th-century chandelier made at the Russian Imperial Factory which cost $59,000,”, reads the IDFI statement on state resources spent on the President's residence.

By Ana Dumbadze