Tomato pulp factories

Tomato is one of the most characteristic products of Santorini. The tomato pulp production together with the one of the wine were the basis of the island’s economy from 1925 till the early 1970’s. Initially the tomato pulp production took place in family manufactures. Later on, the tomato factories were built, which are a very interesting sample of industrial architecture of the time. Some of them in Monolithos, Vlychada and in AVIS beach have been preserved in pristine condition.
The first one had been built between 1925-1926 in Monolithos by D. Nomikos (who took ownership after the others had retired), D. Manoudakis and K. Nomikos. Their logo was a rhombus and the installations are preserved untill present day. Next the factories of Emmanuel and Mina Karamoleggos and the AVIS’s were built in the beach of Vothonas in approximatelly 1935-1936, the later’s installations also to have been preserved until present day. During the Occupation the factories of Stelios Mendrinos (STELLA) in Exomiti, E. Kanakaris in Exo Gialos, Georgios D. Nomikos and S. Prekas in Vlychada had also been built. During the same time, the alcohol factory of Gr. Koutsogiannopoulos built in 1930 in Gialos port below Fira had been converted to a tomato pulp factory. The Santo cannery of Theran Products’ Union of Santorini had been built in the 1950’s in Monolithos.

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In 1940 Santorini’s mines produced more than 120.000 tones of Theraic earth and pumice and employed 200-300 people. The countdown for their operation had begun since 1970 as tourism in the island increased.

Sources: “Theran land mines, a historic record”, by Roussetos Livadaros, mining engineer / Lecturer in EMP from the book “Santorini, Thera, Therassia, Aspronisi, Volcanoes”, by Ioannis M. Danezis/2001. Editor in chief Emm. A. Lignos.
www.eyploia.gr, author: Paraskevi Bozineki-Didoni, from the records of the scientific conference entitled “Historical mines in the Aegean region, (19th-20th c.)”, organized in Milos island with the cooperation of the Piraeus Bank Group Cultural Foundation, which published the relevant book in 2005.

Knitting factories

The “Theran cotton” was unique in Greece and existed for more than 100 years. The plant was short, like the vines, and the cotton was red, like silk. The fabrics and the famous Santorinian socks were made from it. They also wove cloths, stockings, caps and jerseys with it.
The first knitting factory was founded by G. Filippakis in 1887 in Messaria but the real pioneer was Antonios Markezinis.

In 1926, G. Koutsogiannopoulos having returned from Shanghai founded a cotton mill in Fira. In 1929 another knitting factory had been founded in Oia by Iakovos Darzentas which did great and after having tranfered its operations to Athens became the largest in Greece. The last factory had been built by in 1960 by Evaggelos Damigos also in Oia and transfered its operations to Chalkida.

*Data from the text “Production and exportation of cotton” by Dimitris Gofas, emetinus professor of Athens Law School, from the book “Santorini, Thera, Therassia, Aspronisi, Volcanoes”, by Ioannis M. Danezis/2001. Editor in chief Emm. A. Lignos.

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Mines

Santorini is covered with volcanic ash almost at its entirety, with the exception of the hill of Profitis Elias, Monolithos, Gavrilos hill in Emporeio and certain areas between Fira and Oia. On the Caldera, the ash layer was thick and unadulterated, while ship loading was very easy: so, the Terra Theraic – or Theraic earth – mines were created. The loading docks, can still be seen near Fira and Oia, when sailing around the island.
Theraic earth, containing silicon oxides in complex minerals, is an excellent building material. When mixed with lime, it forms a powerful plaster which solidifies with humidity (even underwater) and in time becomes even harder. When excavated and shaped into a dome, it is extremely resistant and preserves its geometric lines. The famous underground rock-hewn houses of Santorini – cheap to build and ecological too – are built of this material.
This layer of Theraic earth also contains pumice, a very porous, froth-like igneous rock and a bad conductor of heat and sound. Theraic earth is so useful as a building material that it has been used in large construction projects, such as the Suez Canal and the ports of Alexandria and Constanţa. High demand led to the opening of mines in Oia, Fira, Akrotiri, Therassia.
At first, mining was carried out using primitive means inside tunnels. Gradually, technological advancements and the use of machinery significantly accelerated the process.

Mines in Therassia, Fira, Oia and Akrotiri

The first individual mining-holding took place in Therassia and south of Fira. Therefore Theraic earth entered the national and international construction material market.
In 1890 Nikolaos Kanellopoulos, who was considered to be the father of Greek industrialization, leased all the Despotidis mines in Therassia and cooperated with German Grohmann, in founding the company “Ifaistos” which acquired the Diamantopoulos-Kontogouris mines south of Fira. A large factory of drying, grinding and bagging Theraic earth, equipped with the most modern machinery of the era, had been built in the area. The impressive building, now deserted, still rises in the area of the old mines and you will see it walking or driving outside Fira (heading to port).
Kakkaki’s pumice mines, also located outside Fira, had been purchased by the companies of “Stamatiadis-Nikosias” and “Atlas” for the production of renowned bricks. In 1930 Diamantopoulo’s mines came into possession of ship owner Petros Nomikos and the company “Lava” which approximately in 1970 were sold to AGET Iraklis. In 1981 it was the mine to have been granted the one permission ever issued for the exploitation of Theraic earth. It was permanently shut down in 1989.
All of Grohmann’s stock of the “Ifaistos” company were confiscated and assumed in 1941 by the General Accounting Office and in 1975 by ETVA. In 1979 the mining area of “Ifaistos” had been leased by N. Bountouroglou and Co later named “Atlantis”, and continued the exploitation until the lease expired and the operations had been permanently stopped. South of the “Ifaistos”‘s area the exploitation had been carried on by several others until cease of operations by law for every mine not to have been issued a permission for exploitation of industrial materials.
In 1979, the company “Atlantis” had acquired the mine of “Atlas” (third in line after those of Ifaistos and Papageorgiou outside Fira). Mining continued until 1984. It was then that the operations of the “Ermis” mine owned by Mavromatis in the area of the then Community of Megalohori, near Akrotiri village had also stopped.
Between 1935 and 1940 Mathew Mavromatis started the exploitation of the mines in Oia with a loading ladder in Ammoudi (shut down in 1974) and ship owner Michael Karageorgis north of Athinios which shut down in 1941. The exploitation there was carried on by several others (Chiotopoulos, Mavromatis, Markou) after the lease of the area by its owner until the permanent shut down in 1982.