In Milan, Italy, the intimate mosaic laid into the floor at the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele is once again under repair, to replace the bull’s lucky balls.
Artist Gianluca Galli was photographed last week kneeling reverently before the damaged work of art — not in supplication, but with the practical task of setting new pieces of tile.
He offered an assessment:
“It’s probably a charming gesture, but also quite damaging for a work of art.” Which is to say, the charming gestures had damaged a particular detail of this particular mosaic.
The dancing bull symbolizes Torino, Italy — better known to Americans as Turin — which was the original capital of Italy in 1861 when several smaller kingdoms became unified as Regno d’Italia (The Kingdom of Italy). As legend has it, a visitor who places their right heel on the bull’s delicate feature, spins clockwise three times, and makes a wish, is guaranteed good fortune.
The charming gesture has become beloved by international tourists.
Sig. Galli’s restoration work is an aspect of an ongoing battle between civic heritage and the apparently irresistible human urge to grind one’s heel into a bull’s private parts in hopes of getting a wish granted.
With predictable consequences for the pink tiles in question.
The pink tiles get replaced about every eight years. And off we go again.
From an article by Luca Signorini on Italoamericano.org:
Whether you believe in good luck charms or not, if you happen to be in Milan, go take a spin — or three, actually — on the bull’s balls: you never know, good fortune may just happen to look your way.
I would not normally think of smashing my heel into a bull’s mosaic testicles as being especially fortuitous. But the tradition reportedly dates back to the 19th century, and maybe earlier, so we must assume there’s something behind it. Otherwise, hundreds of tourists each day are doing something really stupid. If so, I trust they are not Americans.
The question naturally arises: why doesn’t a popular tourist destination like Pagosa Springs have a similar tradition?
And could we?
We don’t typically have heraldic animals tiled into the floors in our public courtyards, with their testicles exposed to view and to people’s heels.
But we have plenty of public art that portrays animals. Mostly, life size sculptures.
Not bulls, necessarily, but other kinds of animals.
Could we possibly start a tradition where tourists can get their wishes granted… by rubbing sculptural private parts…? I mean. who doesn’t appreciate a chance to generate good fortune?
Once I get hit with an idea like this, I have to chase it down.
So I went hunting for locally-accessible testicles.
My thoughts naturally went immediately to the three sheep located along the walking path near Walmart. Those bronze sheep were installed last year to provide employment for the bronze shepherd who had been installed at the site a year earlier.
But could they possibly also provide good luck for the rest of us?
Unfortunately, they all turned out to be ewes. Why the sculptor did not include at least one ram, I have no idea. (The male shepherd was wearing pants, obviously. Besides, that would be too weird.)
My next visit was to the blue bear at Yamaguchi Park.
I quickly determined that the equipment I was looking for, was missing.
More disappointment.
Then I remembered the cowboy sculpture at City Market. The bronze cowboy breaking a rearing stallion.
Of course, I was thinking of the stallion, not the cowboy.
Alas, when I checked, the stallion was not a stallion. He appeared to be a gelding.
No Huevos.
Maybe I had been setting my expectations too high?
Or too low?
Underrated writer Louis Cannon grew up in the vast American West, although his ex-wife, given the slightest opportunity, will deny that he ever grew up at all. You can read more stories on his Substack account.