This promotional Greek National Tourism Organisation’s poster features the “Grand Staircase” at the Palace of Knossos. The palace was built on Kefala hill, in the middle of a fertile valley, and occupied an area of 22,000 sq. m. Around it stretched the city, with a population of 80,000 to 100,000. In the summer of 1901, Arthur Evans’s (1851-1941) excavation on the east side of the Central Court of the Palace led to an extremely important discovery: the “Grand Staircase”, which – according to Evans –provided access to the wing housing the royal apartments.

The "Grand Staircase" is one of the most impressive structures of the Minoan palace and served the eastern wing, which had four floors. It consisted of two flights of stairs, flanked by elegant colonnades in Minoan red, repeated on each floor. The side walls were decorated with colourful frescoes, like the one that depicts a procession of 'gift bearers'. The entire staircase was naturally lit by a large light well surrounded by columns and openings. On the other two sides, the repetition of the columns on the upper storey formed successive verandas, like the one decorated with the “Figure-of-Eight Shields Fresco”. The damage, which began to appear immediately after the excavation of this magnificent structure, made immediate protection, and restoration imperative. This work was undertaken by Evans’s colleague, Scottish architect Theodore Fyfe (1875-1945).