Itinerari e fonti del Corallium rubrum. I commerci tra Mediterraneo, India, Cina e Giappone dall’antichità alla prima età moderna

Since ancient times, red coral has been one of the most appreciated original items exported from Mediterranean to India and East Asia, along the circuits of the silk and spice trade routes. Nevertheless, due to its rarity, as well as to a paucity or a lack of records, studies seem often neglect this product on the move from the West to the East. Focusing mostly on some accounts from antiquity to early modern times, this paper gathers information and mentions from several sort of archival, artistic, and literary sources, in order to explain why coral was appreciated, how it was acknowledged, traded and employed by different civilizations, especially in East Asia.