Photo: Mk79 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Antico frantoio dell'olio

Historic animal-powered olive oil mill in Costacciaro, preserved almost intact and in use until the 1960s, with millstone, press and counterweight.

Opening hours unknownAdmission €2

Directions

About the museum

The mill, known as “Il Montano”, is one of the largest and oldest in Umbria and probably dates from the 17th or 18th century. The name, which has nothing to do with the mountain, may derive from the Latin “molendinum”, meaning mill. At the beginning of the 20th century it belonged to Carlo Bartoletti of Costacciaro; already in the 19th century, olive cultivation on the south-facing slope of the hill was managed by local Franciscan friars.

The plant remained in operation until the 1960s and is now owned by the municipality. It retains most of its original structures: a stone millstone driven by a donkey or mule, a large press with an oak beam and an enormous stone counterweight, a wooden screw press, wooden spacers, a large copper cauldron of about 150 litres and a small collecting tank. The notches used to measure the quantity of olives or oil can still be seen on the beam, and an old block of the mill’s account ledgers is kept in a drawer.

The visit illustrates the stages of production: work began at night, when the fire was lit to heat the water. The olives were ground, the paste was spread on rope discs (“fiscoli”) and pressed, and the oil that rose to the surface of the tank with the boiling water was skimmed off by hand with a large copper ladle.

Highlights

Stone mill driven by an animal
Large press with oak beam and stone counterweight
Wooden screw press and copper cauldron
Beam with the original measuring notches
Historic mill account ledgers
The stages of oil production explained during the visit

Permanent exhibition

Il frantoio storico «Il Montano» – The original plant with mill, presses and tools, showing the stages of olive processing.

Operated by: Comune di Costacciaro