Worn down by thousands of passers-by honouring an unusual tradition, a floor mosaic of an anatomically detailed bull in one of Milan’s grand arcades is getting a sensitive makeover.
Legend has it that grinding one’s heel on the mosaic bull’s testicles at the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II guarantees a return one day to the city.
“Because of constant pirouettes on the heel made by tourists visiting Milan, the pink tesserae that make up its testicles have been worn down, forming a small crater,” city authorities said in a statement.
The beige bull mosaic – representing Turin, the then-capital of Italy – is part of the flooring in the 19th century shopping arcade near Milan’s famous Duomo cathedral.
Restorer Gianluca Galli was called in to repair the mosaic.
On Thursday, he could be seen in the gallery, kneeling down as tourists milled around and gawked at the windows of the original Prada store.
“It’s probably a charming gesture but also quite damaging for a work of art,” Galli told Agence France-Presse of the curious tradition.
