OPENING HOURS
From 1 March to 15 October Daily (except Tuesday) 10:00-18:00 From 16 October to 28 February Daily (except Tuesday) 10:00-17:00 Closed: 1 January, Good Friday (until 12:00), Easter Sunday, Friday after Easter (local holiday), 1 May, 15 August, 25 and 26 December ADMISSION General: € 4 Concessions: € 2 1
Groups: It is advisable to contact the Museum in advance, in order to obtain better service.
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Disabled persons: There is no admission fee for disabled persons. Groups should definitely contact the Museum in advance to make the necessary arrangements.
Museum of Industrial Olive Oil Production in Lesvos
811 02 Aghia Paraskevi, Island of Lesvos - Greece Tel.: +30 22530 32300
PIRAEUS BANK GROUP CULTURAL FOUNDATION 6 Ang. Geronta Str., Athens 105 58, Tel.: +30 210 3256922 Fax: +30 210 3218145, piop@piraeusbank.gr, www.piop.gr
EN ISO 9001:2008 No.: 01012310
Funds for the Museum’s realization were made available through the 2000-2006 North Aegean Regional Operational Programme
Museum of Industrial Olive Oil Production in Lesvos
Cover photo, photos 1-8 and 10-11 by N. Daniilidis. Photo 9 by Th. Kottas.
Photography, Filming: Amateur photography and videotaping is permitted. Those wishing to take photographs or film the exhibits for professional purposes should obtain a special permit from PIOP. 3
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PIRAEUS BANK GROUP CULTURAL FOUNDATION 11
Exhibit areas 1. Entrance 2. Main building 2a. Factory whistle 2b. Underground water tank 3. The smaller storage areas 3a. Storage and preservation of the olive crop 3b. Cultivation of the olive-tree and olive harvesting 3c. Related trades 4. The larger storage areas 4a. Machines and machine builders
Service areas 4b. Multimedia hall 4c. The village of Aghia Paraskevi and the “communal engine” 5. Storeroom for the oil jars 6. Multipurpose hall 7. Café 8. Open-air theatre 9. Museum shop 10. Restrooms 11. Administration offices
THE MAIN BUILDING
Photos: N. Daniilidis
Energy production
Photo.: G. Ananiadis
The Museum of Industrial Olive Oil Production in Lesvos (MVEL) in Aghia Paraskevi on the island of Lesvos, belongs to the Network of thematic Museums of technology created by the Piraeus Bank Group Cultural Foundation (PIOP) and serves to complement the Museum of the Olive and Greek Olive Oil in Sparta. It is housed in the premises of the old communal oilmill, the Municipality of Aghia Paraskevi having ceded their right of use to the Foundation. The project of the museum was included in the North Aegean Regional Operational Programme of 2000-2006 and was funded by the Third Community Support Framework and Piraeus Bank. The Aghia Paraskevi complex has been turned into “a museum of itself”, both its architectural and mechanical features having been restored to their original condition. The surviving historical equipment is highlighted in an exemplary manner by means of its “demonstrative” functioning and its framing with digital media. One can witness the development of the various machines, while special emphasis is given to the changes that the introduction of mechanical power brought to the process of oil production. In the main building the three basic steps of the oil production process (crushing the olives, pressing the olive pulp, separating oil from water) are shown, while reference is made to the auxiliary operation of the flour-mill. The former storage areas of the olive crop are used as auxiliary exhibition halls, in which exhibits present the human factor involved in oil production. The larger storage areas hold detailed exhibits of: a) the history of the communal oil-mill of Aghia Paraskevi, noting especially the communal ownership of the mill – a quite novel development for the time and its effects on the social and economic structure of the area; b) the mechanization of oil production in Lesvos; and c) the wider socio-economic background. In the smaller storage areas the full cycle of trades involved in oil production is presented. The Museum has also a hall for hosting various types of events, a café, and a small open-air theatre. The Museum of Industrial Olive Oil Production in Lesvos aims at presenting the industrial heritage of the island, not only as far as oil production is concerned but also in the wider field of technological development and the history of production, as well as projecting it against its architectural, social and cultural background.
Olive oil production
Flour-mills 1. W eighing area 2. Information 3. Oil-mill feeder towers 4. Chimney stack 5. Smoke duct 6. Flour-mills 7. Steam boiler 8. Pre-heater 9. Steam-engine 10. Oil-mills 11. Pumps 12. Oil-presses 13. Tables in front of the oil-presses 14. Separators "De Laval" 15. Metal containers for oil 16. Factory whistle 17. Underground water tank