Routes to sacred sites

Over the centuries, the Mediterranean Sea has proven to be a source of great wealth but also of great danger and its sailors have always sought protection from the Saints.

St Elmo, the patron saint of fishermen is present in the folklore of Alghero, so much so that a now ruined altar in the Grotta Verde at Capo Caccia, where mass was once celebrated, is dedicated to him. Some historical sources report the presence in the past of an ancient church dedicated to the saint, located in the street of the same name. In the cathedral, in a chapel in the aisle on the right, there is a painting depicting perhaps an ex voto, a boat in the midst of the storm and above, as if watching over the fishermen, the Madonna and St Erasmus.

When the fishermen decided to brave the sea’s dangers, they relied on both of these figures for comfort and protection. The bronze statue of the Madonna Stella Maris was placed on St Elmo’s tower in 1954 to supervise the boats and protect the sailors leaving the port of Alghero. 

Not only that, in the city there are several simulacra of the patron saints that highlight the devotion that the people of Alghero have always maintained over the centuries.

In the old Porta a Mare, a niche was built to house the Madonna di Porto Salve, a small statue adorned with coral necklaces and revered by fishermen.

When the sea was too treacherous, the fishermen also relied on the Madonna del Frontuni, which was placed in the early 1900s in a cave on the sea at the end of Capo Caccia. The location was not chosen at random, since from that point the statue had to protect the fishermen who boldly ventured beyond the promontory. She is portrayed with a boat on her arm and an inscription at the base: Benedite e Pregate per gli Ardimentosi Navigatori (Bless and Pray for the Daring Sailors).