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Room 13 – the production of olive oil
The various phases during the extraction of the oil, the way in which the olives are crushed and ground, the separation of the oil from the pulps have always been the object of study for the continual improvement in the past by man. Many famous people, such as Archimede, and by many able anonymous millers, have imagined more efficient inventions and techniques throughout the past. During the 1600 and the 1700 the millers of western Liguria became famous throughout Europe for the perfection of their systems of extraction.

- Photo: Presses in steel and cast iron -

A vast range of the types of presses in steel and cast iron used in Liguria. The traditional kinds in wood used during the middle ages, the hand actioned presses used at the beginning of the 20th century and the modern hydraulic pomp system used today: automatic and continued pressing. A video demonstrates the various phases of the extraction in detail.
 

Particulars of a wooden screw press.
The introduction of the screw-press became one of the most important innovations in the technique of oil extraction; this type of screw was already used by the ancient Romans for increasing the pressure upon the vegetable fibre sacks in which the olive oil pulp was placed. The carving of the metal screw and that of the wooden mother screw needed great ability to obtain a smooth movement, aumenting the efficiency and diminishing the strain on the arms. 

Material: wood
Dimensions: length 167cm. Spiral diameter 24 cm diameter 36cm
Manufacturing technique: hand carved followed by smoothing and polishing
Origin: Massabovi, western Liguria
Dated: XIX century
Function: final pressing of the pulp for the extraction of the oil