Milan restores Bull Mosaic's Testicles
The mosaic Rampant Bull in the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II will undergo restoration. Due to the constant tumbling of tourists visiting Milan, the pink tiles that make up its testicles are wearing away, forming a small crater.
"Thousands of people every day have performed the famous heel-spinning gesture. The Galleria's lucky stitch has worn away over time," said Councilors Emmanuel Conte and Marco Granelli. "The last restoration was in 2017. The time has come, therefore, to restore the Galleria's mosaic to its original appearance, thanks to a meticulously crafted intervention. The Galleria is a living heritage, capable of being worn away precisely because it is loved and experienced: we care for it so that it continues to be so."
The Municipality periodically intervenes to repair the mosaic of the Bull, the subject of a superstitious ritual, already in vogue among Milanese in the 800th century, which is said to ensure good luck and the opportunity to return to the city: the last intervention was in September 2017.
The animal is depicted on a blue background, inside the coat of arms that symbolizes Turin, the capital of Italy at the time of the construction of the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, and it was the king himself who laid the first stone for the construction of the work in 1865.