Did you know that the piece of olive wood oldest in the world is found charred remains of a nearly 45,000-year-old was in the Jordan Valley, considered the birthplace of the olive tree?

From then until today, the olive tree has come a long way of culture and civilization that spans the Mediterranean, central Europe and to America. To know all about olives and olive oil, it is best to visit the museums of the Mediterranean Network of Museums of the Olive, among which is this museum of Sparta that we know today.

Sparta is now the capital of the region of Laconia in the Peloponnese, in the heart of the valley of Eurotas, with the historic nature Gythion port and one of the richest agricultural regions of Greece whose main products are citrus fruits and olives .

Its interesting Museum of the Olive and Greek Olive Oil, which opened in 2002, belongs to the chain of museums PIOPED, the Cultural Foundation of the Bank of Piraeus, which holds other museums such as the Silk Soufli or the marble work of the Pyrgos.

This museum, dedicated to culture and technology from ancient olive to the present day, focuses on economic and symbolic aspects of culture and is the only technology that shows the evolution of the production of olive oil over history in Greece.

It has an outdoor area where visitors can produce their own olive oil, with replicas of ancient Greek and Byzantine instruments. There are information panels that reveal the importance of olive oil to the Greeks and an entire floor dedicated to the development of the technology of olive oil since ancient times to the industrial era, with presses of the most diverse types of blood-drive, hydraulic , steam, diesel, engine and more.

The museum in the former premises of the Electricity Company of Sparta, totally renovated and adapted to its new mission, and has multimedia exhibitions, café and shop.

Practical information about the Museum of the Olive and Greek Olive Oil in Sparta

· Location: Othonos-Amalias 129
· Opening hours: daily from 10 to 17h or 18h. depending on the season
· Admission: General admission is charged.
· Directions: By bus from Athens and other European cities such as Naples.

Possibility Related Posts:

• Religious tourism: churches and monasteries of Argos
• Argos, the historical city
• Moussaka
• Greek Cuisine
• The Greek Peloponnese

Tags: Business, Eurotas, Food, Food and Related Products, Jordan Valley, Olive, olive oil, Peloponnese

This entry was posted on Friday, September 23rd, 2011 at 10:54 am and is filed under Greece Ancient. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.