Kontralto of Florina
At the entrance to the city, on the roundabout of Alexander the Great Square, you will be greeted by a bear playing the double bass: the Kontralto of Florina, made from scrap metal, sheet iron, and steel plates. This striking sculpture from Florina-born artist Giorgos Bardakas was created as part of his graduation project at the Department of Visual and Applied Arts and was immediately donated to the Municipality of Florina. Kontralto is not merely an artistic symbol, but an ode to independence and resilience; a bear that, without a master, plays its own double bass, finding rhythm within a barren city—as the artist himself describes it. With its strength and gentleness, it has become the city’s unofficial landmark, a metaphor for the soul of Florina; creative, proud, and deeply human.
