Coral is the most important form of craftsmanship in Sciacca, a town in the province of Agrigento. Here, the only species of reddish-orange coral different from the “Rubrum” species of the Mediterranean is produced, thanks to the Sciacca Coral Consortium, an association of artisanal enterprises with workshops located in the same city. Founded in July 2013 by the will and determination of its founders, the coral artisans of Sciacca.
The consortium’s primary objective is to safeguard and enhance Sciacca coral, a type of coral with unique characteristics worldwide. It is predominantly sub-fossil coral, already dead due to a natural process, making it eco-sustainable. It has different and unique color tones at the same time.
History
Sciacca coral coms from the discoveries of coral banks called Graham, Foraneo, and Terraneo, at depths of 120-200 meters, off the coast of Sciacca, resulting from repeated volcanic activity over millennia.
Indeed, thanks to the exceptional microclimate created consequently to volcanic phenomena (Isola Ferdinanda 1831 – The Island that isn’t there), vast extensions of coral banks were brought to light. Due to frequent earthquakes and subsequent eruptions, they were torn from volcanic rock and deposited on the seabed, forming three large coral deposits.
Over the centuries, the action of muds, volcanic gases, and time modified its genetic structure, transforming the Red Coral of the Mediterranean (corallium rubrum), which grows abundantly off the coast of Sciacca, into the extraordinary and unique Sciacca coral, distinguished by the uniqueness of its color tones ranging from intense orange to pale salmon-pink, characterized by brownish and sometimes black spots, precisely to testify and certify its volcanic origin.
In the years that followed, the discovery of those three banks and the treasures extracted from the sea of Sciacca spread worldwide, and commercial activities dedicated to coral processing flourished in the city. Today, Sciacca coral, almost a century and a half after its discovery, is famous worldwide for its uniqueness given by color and particular beauty. The processing techniques of a changing material like Mediterranean coral have been passed down through time and find today exceptional interpreters in the artisans of the Consortium, interpreters of Sicilian tradition capable of combining it with individual creativity and contemporary taste.
Five local companies and workshops united by the same values and professionalism in favor of enhancing Sciacca coral and its artistic and traditional processing: G&M Gioielli Caruana, Maurizio Alfeo, Nocito, Oro di Sciacca, Sabrina Orafa in Sciacca.
Finally, the Consortium is the custodian of the collective protection trademark “Corallo di Sciacca” registered with the Ministry of Economic Development (UIBM) and intends to assert the belonging and connection with a territory, that of Sciacca, which aims to enhance the history and traditions, safeguarding in particular the excellence of local craftsmanship which finds its highest expression in the ancient art of coral processing, which today boasts institutional recognition from the Region of Sicily and the Chamber of Commerce “Premio Progresso Economico e Legalità” (Award for Economic Progress and Legality).