What does Medusa have to do with a red "chilli pepper"?
An old legend tells of a gaze that could kill.
It belonged to Medusa. Anyone who met her eyes was turned to stone. No one had ever defeated her, because they all made the same mistake: they looked her in the face.
Until Perseus came.
Instead of facing her, he polished his shield until it became a mirror and moved forward guided only by her reflection. He turned her own gaze back on her, and so he defeated her.
From Medusa's blood to red coral
But the story doesn't end there.
The legend says that when Perseus laid Medusa's head on the seaweed by the shore, a few drops of her blood fell into the sea and, as they touched the water, turned into red coral. From what had stood for death, suddenly, a symbol of life and protection was born.
Why it's shaped like a horn
The people of southern Italy saw that coral as a special amulet and began to carve it into a very particular shape: that of a small horn. And it was no coincidence.
The horn is the weapon an animal charges with: something that juts out, points outwards and, instead of taking the blow, returns it. That's why it became a symbol of protection — just as Perseus didn't dodge Medusa's gaze but sent it back to her: against the evil eye, that energy which comes to do harm, the horn deflects it and throws it back at whoever sent it. And red, the colour of blood and of life, completed that strength by keeping all bad energy away.
That's how the cornicello was born, the famous Neapolitan "little horn". Although many people today mistake it for a chilli pepper, it actually represents a horn, and for more than two thousand years it has accompanied those looking for a symbol of protection and good luck.
Our cornicello necklaces
In our shop you'll find our stainless steel cornicello necklaces, made to be with you every day.
❤️ The same shape as ever. The same promise: that no ill glance will ever reach you.
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