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Nick Squires
Rome: A mosaic of a rampaging bull on the floor of a Milanese shopping arcade became so popular with people stamping on its testicles for good luck that it needed to be restored.
But when the new tiles in Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II were revealed to the public, there appeared to be two important parts missing.
Italians are joking that the bull appears to have been castrated, with its penis intact, but testicles removed.
According to popular belief, visitors who grind their heel into the animal’s nether regions and spin around three times will bring themselves good luck and a guarantee that they will one day return to the city.
George and Amal Clooney were filmed partaking in the tradition in February.
But the peculiar custom took its toll on the mosaic, with a two-centimetre-deep crater appearing in the battered bovine’s groin, and last week city authorities ordered a comprehensive restoration.
When the restored mosaic was revealed at the weekend, it appeared that the creature’s pink-hued testicles had been scrubbed out and replaced with blank mosaic tiles.
The apparent emasculation of the bull was greeted with consternation and derision online.
“The poor bull has undergone gender transition,” one Milan local wrote on X, while another commented: “Why has the bull become a steer?”
In a video clip posted to X, one influencer said: “Right now, people in Milan are talking about nothing else.”
The restoration was carried out by Gianluca Galli, an expert who embarked on a similar repair job in 2017.
He spent four days last week removing the damaged mosaic tiles and replacing them with new ones stuck down with epoxy resin.
He insists that even though the job was meant to be concluded at the weekend, it is in fact unfinished.
“It’s surreal to criticise a restoration that is not yet completed,” he told Corriere della Sera newspaper. “Criticism like this always happens whenever a restoration is undertaken.”
Marco Granelli, the city councillor responsible for the project, said: “We used old mosaic tiles and the original drawings. As usual, everyone has waded in as though they were experts.
“I have the greatest respect for the restorer who carried out the work. We need to wait for the tiles to settle and then the whole thing will be polished.”
The bull, which represents Turin, once the capital of Italy, is part of a circular mosaic beneath the gallery’s glass cupola.
Alongside it there is a fleur-de-lis that represents Florence, the twins Romulus and Remus for Rome and a white shield with a red cross representing Milan.
On Monday, the mosaic was hastily covered with a sheet of white paper stuck down with masking tape.
“We will have to wait and see how the bull looks when the cover is removed, and then we will be able to make a judgment,” said Andrea Cherchi, the Italian influencer.
This is not the first time that a good luck tradition has damaged a piece of Italy’s cultural heritage.
In Verona, there is a custom of rubbing the right breast of a bronze statue of Juliet which stands in the courtyard of a house which is fancifully linked to the legend of Romeo and Juliet.
The bust was caressed by so many tourists that cracks appeared in the metal – to the extent that a few years ago, an entirely new statue had to be cast.
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