The ancient Greeks thought it was the petrified blood of Medusa, and that it had aphrodisiac powers and other properties, and in fact made amulets from it. The clever Peter IV of Aragon understood immediately how fruitful the coral plant could be. Do you know how Alghero’s coat of arms is made? We’ll tell you. At the top there are the four bars of Aragon, yellow and red, at the bottom a branch of coral coming out of the sea. And it was Peter of Aragon who assigned this symbol to the city, consecrating Alghero as the de facto center for coral fishing in Sardinia. In 1384, he even issued a royal decree that forced the coral ships that fished from the Capo di Napoli up to the Asinara to make a stop in Alghero. It is no coincidence then that the coast of Alghero south of Capo Caccia is called Coral Riviera. Today, the fishing of this important resource is under strict control: it takes place from May to October and at a depth of not less than 80 meters. Connoisseurs loudly proclaim that the Alghero coral is much more enchanting than any other variety. So take some time to go and visit the Alghero Coral Museum, in an Art Nouveau villa in via XX Settembre, and bring home a precious memory of L’Alguer, purchasable from one of the city’s jewelers.
