Tomato Industrial Museum D. Nomikos is an industrial museum in Vlychada on the island of Santorini in Greece. The tomato paste factory was founded in 1945, but closed in 1981. In 2014 it reopened as a museum to preserve the remaining buildings, objects and stories connected to Santorini's tomato processing past.
 Museum logo, 2024 | |
 Tomato Industrial Museum D. Nomikos, 2024 | |
 | |
| Established | 2014 |
|---|---|
| Collections | Industrial history |
| Website | tomatomuseum |
History
editDimitro Nomikos had established his first tomato processing business in 1915 in Messaria.[1] By 1922 he had established "one of the first canneries in the Balkans" in Monolithos.[1] His son, George Nomikos founded this tomato processing plant in Vlychada in 1945, naming it after his father Dimitros Nomikos.[2]
The island was subject to a volcanic eruption in 1950. Prior to this Santorini was known as 'tomato island'.[3] The name was due to the fact that tomatoes were a significant crop on the island, which over centuries had developed a variety that was suited to the volcanic soils and required little water.[1] This led to a thin skin, thick flesh and strong taste, making the variety ideal for making tomato paste with.[1] There were nine factories on the islands until the late 1950s.[1] In 1956 the site was flooded and subjected to an earthquake.[2] During its busiest periods, 3500 baskets of tomatoes were processed on a daily basis.[4] The factory closed in 1981 due to a reduction in tomato cultivation on the island.[2] As of 2016 the Nomikos family continued to run similar processing plants in Bulgaria, Greece and Turkey.[4]
In 2014, the site re-opened as an industrial museum, recording the history of specialist tomato processing on the island.[2] The museum is part of a wider organisation called Santorini Arts Factory.[5][6]
Collections and interpretation
editThe collection includes machinery and tools, as well as archival materials and oral histories, recorded for the museum's opening.[2][1] The oldest machinery on display dates to 1890.[1] The site also includes boilers used to generate electricity for tomato paste production and sea water was pumped into the factory for them from the nearby bay.[4]
Displays include the cultivation of the tomato, as well as processing and production of the tomato paste product.[7] The museum has invested in a range of digital technologies to support interpretation and engagement. These include holographic fans, augmented reality and speech to text support for people who have impaired hearing.[8] These interventions put human experience first, bringing new voices to the interpretative framework, as well as being used to share more complex industrial processes.[9]
A tomato paste, of the kind the factory would have produced was, as of 2016, available to buy from the gift shop.[4]
Legacy
edit
In 2017 The Independent described how visitors encounter "a taste of the cultivation, processing and production of the island’s famous triple-concentrated tomato paste (often named as the best in the world), blended with the local history and culture of the island".[10] Gastro Obscura described how the museum has "immortalised" the "heyday" of tomato production on the island.[11]
Gallery
edit-
Santorini tomato seedlings at the museum -
Baskets used to deliver tomatoes -
Processing the tomato paste by hand -
Engine used to produce electricity for the factory -
Tomato processing machinery -
A range of tomato paste cans -
The factory also canned peas -
Tomato juice & tonic at the museum's bar
.jpg)
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g Wong, Cecily; Thuras, Dylan; Obscura, Atlas (2021-10-12). Gastro Obscura: A Food Adventurer's Guide. Workman Publishing Company. ISBN 978-1-5235-1187-7.
- ^ a b c d e Santorini-View.com. "Tomato Industrial Museum - Museums - Santorini". Santorini-View.com. Retrieved 2024-07-01.
- ^ Averbuck, Alexis; Hall, Rebecca; Hardy, Paula; Iatrou, Helen; Koronakis, Vangelis; Maric, Vesna; McNaughtan, Hugh; Ragozin, Leonid; Richmond, Simon (2023). Lonely Planet Greece. Lonely Planet. ISBN 978-1-83758-185-6.
- ^ a b c d "On Santorini, the indigenous tomato paste gets its own historical museum - The Washington Post". web.archive.org. 2016-02-19. Retrieved 2024-11-18.
- ^ Planet, Lonely; Miller, Korina; Averbuck, Alexis; Kaminski, Anna; McLachlan, Craig; O'Neill, Zora; Ragozin, Leonid; Schulte-Peevers, Andrea; Smith, Helena (2018-03-01). Lonely Planet Greek Islands. Lonely Planet. ISBN 978-1-78701-950-8.
- ^ "Santorini Arts Factory - European Festivals Association". www.festivalfinder.eu. Retrieved 2024-11-13.
- ^ "Tomato Industrial Museum - Santorini - Greek Gastronomy Guide". 2020-09-29. Archived from the original on 2020-09-29. Retrieved 2024-11-13.
- ^ Sylaiou, Stella; Gkagka, Evangelia; Fidas, Christos; Vlachou, Elia; Lampropoulos, Giorgos; Plytas, Antonis; Nomikou, Vani (2023-09-27). "Use of XR technologies for fostering visitors' experience and inclusion at industrial museums". Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference of the ACM Greek SIGCHI Chapter. ACM. pp. 1–5. doi:10.1145/3609987.3610008. ISBN 979-8-4007-0888-6.
- ^ Sylaiou, Stella; Dafiotis, Panagiotis; Fidas, Christos; Vlachou, Elia; Nomikou, Vani (March 2024). "Evaluating the Impact of XR on User Experience in the Tomato Industrial Museum "D. Nomikos"". Heritage. 7 (3): 1754–1768. doi:10.3390/heritage7030082. ISSN 2571-9408.
- ^ "Taste Escape: Where to eat and drink in Santorini, Greece". The Independent. 2017-08-04. Retrieved 2024-11-18.
- ^ "Santorini's Volcanic Soil Produces Sweet, Intensely Fragrant Tomatoes". Atlas Obscura. Retrieved 2024-11-18.
External links
edit