The Porcellino

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Rub the Nose of the “Porcellino” in the Loggia del Mercato Nuovo The “Porcellino” is one of Florence’s icons; it’s both amulet and tradition. You can find copies of “Il Porcellino” in Aix-en-Provence, France, in the park of Enghien Castle in Belgium and two copies in Munich. The “Porcellino” statue is on the left of the Loggia del Mercato Nuovo and is one of Florence’s most visited (or touched) landmarks. Il Porcellino (translation — the piglet) in reality is a wild boar. It was made on a base of Greek marble, a gift from Pius IV to Cosimo I in 1560. Later, Cosimo II decided that the statue — now in the Museo Bardini — had to be properly celebrated, and in 1612 commissioned Pietro Tacca to make a Bronze copy to adorn Palazzo Pitti. One of his best students, if not the best, Giambologna made the copy, executing it so well that the skin and the hair of the boar seemed real. The work was completed in 1633 and Ferdinando Il de’ Medici relocated the statue to the Loggia del Mercato Nuovo where it became a fountain (around 1640).Not only was the statue eye-catching, and gave the Loggia added character, it served a practical purpose; it provided drinking water to the fabric and textile vendors who traded wares under the loggia. Prior to its current location (which dates back to the nineteenth century) the boar stood in front of what was the former Commodity Exchange. The base had to be redone by Clemente Papi in 1857, due to wear, and in 1988 the Ferdinando Marinelli Artistic Foundry recast the statue, and this is documented by an incision on the right edge of the statue. One of the most popular traditions in Florence is to touch the snout of the «Piggy» for good luck. You can see where the metal shines from all the human contact. The ritual further dictates that you should put a coin in the mouth of the wild boar, if it falls into the grate where the water flows will have luck, otherwise not. Hans Christian Andersen, author of “The Ugly Duckling,” “The Princess and the Pea” and “The Little Mermaid,” mentioned the Porcellino in one of his fairy tales and the statue even had the role of an “extra” in two Harry Potter films, including where it decorated the entrance to Hogwarts in “Chamber of Secrets».

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