From the Cultural Foundation of Piraeus Group comes the children’s book The Silver Belt by Haris Mega, illustrated by Maria Bachá, a publication that connects with the art of silversmithing and the Museum of Silversmithing in Ioannina.

How, then, is the art of silversmithing linked to the city of Ioannina? How did the fame of silversmithing reach the ends of the earth? Ultimately, how did this art become rooted in the daily lives of the city’s residents, affecting their economic and social standing?

The author, a music educator and ethnomusicologist, manages with her direct language to transport us to a fairy-tale world, with patterns and elements of familiar folk mythology. Thus unfolds the story of the unique silversmith in the walled city of ancient Hellopia, that is the region of Ioannina; of the wealthy foreigner from the North who arrives in the city to order silverware from the renowned silversmith; of the poor residents living around the lake who, in exchange for their help to the silversmith, ask him to share with them the art of silversmithing; of the wise old man living on an islet in the lake who manages, by referring to his books, to "heal" the silversmith from his greed.

The painter-illustrator Maria Bachá conveys this "fairy-tale" story with watercolors. She sensitively perceives the deeper meanings of the narrative, managing to create a visual universe with elements that are both "fairy-tale" and realistic, such as those of the landscape or the silver artifacts, thus connecting the visual artwork with exhibits from the Museum of Silversmithing.