Worn by thousands of passers-by who honor an unusual tradition, the pieces of a floor mosaic representing a bull with anatomical details, in one of Milan’s great arcades, will be the target of a delicate restoration intervention.
Legend has it that turn the heel on the testicles of the bull represented in a mosaic in the Vítor Emanuel II Gallery, in Milan, guarantees that one day if you return to the city.
However, due to the constant heel pirouettes performed by tourists visiting Milan, the pink tesserae that make up their testicles were being worn down, and formed a small crater, explain municipal authorities in .
The beige mosaic representing a bull, symbol of Turinthen the capital of Italy, is part of the floor of the 19th century shopping arcade, located near Milan’s famous Duomo cathedral.
Given the notorious wear and tear on the mosaic, the Milanese authorities called in the restorer Gianluca Gallito whom they entrusted the mission of restoring the intimate arts of the bull.
On Thursday, he could be seen in the gallery, kneeling, while tourists milled around him and peered into the windows of the original Prada store. “It’s probably a nice gesture, but also quite harmfull to a work of art,” Galli told AFP about this curious tradition.
The restorer hand cut new stone piecesafter studying drawings from the time and taking a mold of the original fragments, and said that he will use epoxy resins instead of the original grout of lime and sand to fix the pieces, so as to better support the tourists’ heels.
Prevented from doing the pirouette on the bull during the restoration, the tourists present on Thursday could be seen reproducing the same gesture about the neighboring mosaic of a she-wolf, which represents Rome.
The bull’s last restoration dates back to 2017.
«Or famous ‘lucky’ point of the gallery was eroding over time”, explain Emmanuel Conte and Marco Granelli, vice-mayors of Milan, in the statement. «The time had come to restore the gallery’s mosaic to its original appearance».
«The gallery is a living heritagewhich can wear out precisely because it is loved and frequented», highlight the mayors.
Galli, who says he is proud of your workwould like to «encourage young people to embrace this profession, because Italy is in great need of restorers and restorers».
«I know it’s a demanding job, because you have to move from job to job… but it’s also a profession considered as a privilege in Italy”, concluded the artisan.
