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The production of “fire water” in by gone times saw the involvement of many Villacidro inhabitants that made home produced fire water exporting it to the rest of Sardinia. Distillation activities declined drastically in the first half of the 800s following a law of the reign that laid down very strict rules regarding the keeping of alembic. High costs, necessary to adjust instrumentation, forced many locals to quit production, and thus “fire water” and this trade slowly yet surely started to disappear.
Linked to the tradition of “fire water” production, the factory producing Murgia liquors is the pride and joy of Villacidro industry.
The chemist and pharmacist Gennaro Murgia set up a large factory near the Fluminera River in 1886, a continuous steam distillery where he built enormous underground tanks to store the wine batches that he purchased from all over Sardinia, and he started to produce distilled alcohol.
Within just a few years the distillery launched the name “Villacidro” and its products all over Italy; not only the “fire water” linked to the tradition of the town, but also all the liquors that were produced using the owner’s extensive herbal knowledge: Villacidro Giallo e Bianco (Villacidro yellow and white), Amaro sardo (Sardinian bitter tasting liquor), Mandarino(mandarin liquor), Alkermes (a sweet liquor often used in cakes), Cedro (cider), Menta (mint liquor), Crema Cacao (chocolate cream liquor), Crema Caffè (coffee cream liquor), etc...
His most famous recipe, il Villacidro Giallo, is a secret passed down from generation to generation amongst the members of the Murgia family, till present day the only ones to run the distillery. Even today the factory still produces “il Villacidro Giallo and Bianco”, l'Amaro and “il Mirto” (a liquor made from blueberries) but only in small quantities.
