Kanakaris Tomato Factory

The famous Santorini cherry tomato arrived on the island in the last half of the 19th century. The production of the chrysomilo, or golden apple, as they called it (in an exact translation of the Italian description “pomod 'oro”), developed especially after 1917. At that time, because of the Russian Revolution, there was a decrease in exports of the famous Vinsanto wine to Russia, where it had been used as the Holy Communion wine for the Tsars. Increased production of tomato products led to industrialization, and so after the war nine (9) tomato processing factories were active in Santorini. One of these, with a well-preserved smokestack, is the factory of Efstathios Kanakaris in Exo Gialos, which began production during the German occupation. To learn more about the industrial history of the tomato in Santorini, we highly recommend that you visit the factory-museum of G. Nomikos in Vlychada.