Malta - G. Skarpalezos' Olive Stone Mill
The olive stone mill is situated in the settlement of Malta in Stavropigio, on the top of a hillock. It operates since the Turkish domination, in1765. There, the first bey of Mani, (Tzanetos Koutifaris), used to produce his oil, while the Turkish tax collector, (Mavrikos), used to visit him, in order to receive the «tax of the Tenth». That was done by weighting the products with the use of the steelyard, existing today still. Since then, the olive stone mill operates continuously.
Perhaps, it is the only traditional olive stone mill throughout Greece, where the processing of the fruit of the olive tree is done by the use of millstones. The two stone wheels, (made out of granite), while rotating crush the olives, creating the pulp known as hamouri. This processing has as a result the maintenance of all beneficial elements and vitamins which olive oil holds.
When the olive stone mill was first founded it was manual. Later on it worked by horsepower, while, today, it is motorized. The way of processing, nevertheless, has not changed all those years.
The Skarpalezos family relates its name to the production of olive oil for more than 200 years, while the olive stone mill remains a living place for Messinia’s folklore and tradition.