Museum
The Mavroudis family introduces you to the world of quality Corfiot extra virgin
olive oil, with authentic experiences of knowledge and taste.
We have created a beautiful museum housed in a traditionally built stone building next to the olive milland is an excellent example of a small, pre-industrial, horse-powered olive oil mill,which retains all the important authentic features of Corfu island architecture and agriculture of the period…
From Ancient Times To The Present
As old as human existence, as sacred as the inexplicable mysteries, precious and unique, which could only be described as a gift from the gods to humans, the olive tree emerges from prehistory and finding favorable conditions, rises in the Mediterranean as the permanent and dominant element of its landscape, companion and nurturer of its inhabitants, symbol of its worship.
Paleolithic Period
The olive originated in the countries of south Asia and was carried by birds to the Mediterranean via the Middle East. The most ancient oleaster traces in Greece are fossilized leaves found in the caldera on the island of Santorini dating back some 50,000– 60,000 years.
NEOLITHIC PERIOD
The olive trees were first cultivated in the Eastern Mediterranean area by Neolithic farmers. Starting from the region of the Levant, the knowledge of olive cultivation traveled to Southern Europe through Greece with the spread of agriculture.
MINOAN PERIOD
The farmers of the Neolithic era were the ones who transformed the wild olives into cultivable trees. Thus the first systematic cultivation of wild olives takes place in about 7000 BC. In Minoan Crete (3500 - 1500 BC), oil and olives occupied an important place in the economy, daily life and religious ceremonies. Olive stones were found next to relics, in ancient cemeteries, which accompanied the entombed on their eternal journey. Images of olive trees found in the palace of Knossos show that even then they ate the olives and used the oil for food, but also as fuel for the lamps. It is worth noting that the large clay pots (jars) where the oil was stored have been preserved to this day in ancient Knossos and Phaistos. The best customer of the Cretan aromatic oils was Egypt, which received them from the ships that transported them in specially made pseudo-mouth amphorae.Corfu & Olive Oil
Just 25 km outside the beautiful city of Corfu and 20 minutes from the port of Lefkimmi, just by the picturesque hamlet of Vraganiotika, Corfu, there exists a sea of green leaves with a hint of mauve. Beneath their shade, thick branches, heavy with fruit, grow strong and elegant, carrying what will become the liquid gift of golden EVOO. There, in the groves of the Mavroudis family, the two most important and famous olive varieties of Corfu, “Lianolia” and the “Koroneiki Elia” have been cultivated for several years!
The Mavroudis family introduces you to the world of quality Corfiot EVOO, with authentic experiences of knowledge and taste. We have created a beautiful museum, housed in a traditionally built stone house, next to the olive mill. That mill is an excellent example of a small, pre-industrial, horse-powered olive oil mill, which retains all the important authentic features of the pre-industrial corfiot architecture and agriculture.
Let us give you a step-by-step guided tour through the process of the olive oil production from the mid 16th Century to today’s modern two-phase centrifuge separator. We invite you to try our olive oil with homemade bread and local olives and we hope that you will be a new “Corfiot olive oil producer”!
Tour Request
Vraganiotika Village Corfu, Greece
(+30) 2661 076759