Olive Oil Museum in Belmonte

The Olive Oil Museum

The Olive Oil Museum occupies the space of the old Belmonte olive press, which was in operation until 1995.

Its aim is to raise awareness of olive oil production techniques, the origin and importance of olive cultivation (introduced to the Iberian Peninsula by the Romans, who explored olive oil production on a large scale), as well as the economic importance of “liquid gold” in the region.

This importance is highlighted in the coat of arms of the Parish of Belmonte, which contains a press and two golden olive branches, which clearly attests to the presence of the product in people’s lives.

According to the museum’s designer, Renato Neves, the idea was to “preserve as much as possible the entire architecture of the building”, which was in a state of disrepair, “in order to show how it originally operated”.

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The museum is spread over two floors, with an outdoor leisure area and a preserved olive grove where most of the informational materials are located, covering the following topics: “The Olive Tree and Civilization”, “The Olive Tree in Portugal”, “Olive Groves in Cova da Beira”, “The Ecological Importance of the Olive Grove” and “The Annual Cycle of Olive Tree Cultivation and Olive Oil Production”.

On the first floor, visitors will find the space where the offices used to be, the storage tanks and the trapdoor through which the olives were poured directly to be milled on the lower floor,

while on the ground floor, the machinery from the old olive press is on display, in a blue colour, so characteristic of Metalúrgica Duarte Ferreira, which manufactured agricultural machinery for the entire country in the mid-20th century.

At the end of the visit, after tasting the olive oil, you can also purchase various regional products, such as olive oil, wine and jams.

Come and have A Truly Personalized Experience!

 

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