Museum of Oil of Catalunya

Olive oil is one of the iconic products of Spain. The museum is in the town of La Grandella in the north-east of Catalunya. It is housed in the buildings of the local oil cooperative, Sindicat Agrícola Sant Antoni Abad, built in 1920. The mill went out of use in 1986 but still contains its original machinery in working order, together with examples from earlier and later times and tools, equipment and other objects. The mill was built into a slope so that olives could be loaded on the top floor and oil taken out at the bottom. It was strongly built of stone with a steel frame, cast-iron columns and large timbers. The museum is part of MNACTEC, the Museums of Science and Technology of Catalunya. It explains olive cultivation and harvesting, the processes of pressing and straining, approaches to bottling and marketing and the organisation of cooperatives. The shop contains a wide range of products.