It is one of a kind in Greece and, naturally, it was built in one of the most productive olive oil areas in the country. The Piraeus Bank Group Cultural Foundation created this museum so as to present the course of the olive and the production of olive oil in Greece and in the Mediterranean throughout time. The museum is a two-storey building and in an atrium there are a prehistoric, a Hellenistic and a byzantine olive presses where the visitor can actually see how olive oil was produced. In the museum you will also find documents and evidence concerning the olive and its contribution to the economy, pharmaceuticals, diet and cosmetics throughout time. Among the exhibits, 50,000-60,000 year-old fossilized olive leaves that were discovered in Santorini. The findings that pertain to the history and to the role of olive and olive oil are presented in a different section. Discover how the technology of producing oil has evolved from antiquity till the early period of the industrial revolution. For this purpose, large animated models representing mechanically-driven olive presses are exhibited. Finally, a separate module is devoted to the production of soap for industrial or domestic use.

Source: www.oliveoilmuseums.gr

Ministry of Culture