Florence travel guide

Piglet

You can't come to Florence without visiting the famous "porcellino" (actually a wild boar) under the Loggia del Mercato Nuovo, a stone's throw from Ponte Vecchio and Piazza Signoria. Much loved by tourists, tradition has it that it brings good luck to rub his snout and insert a coin in his mouth, but only if it falls into the grid below! The original is actually in the Bardini Museum, and was commissioned in the seventeenth century by the Medici family to Tacca, one of the best bronze artists of the time, a pupil of Giambologna. The naturalistic details such as the fur, small animals and vegetation surrounding the boar are splendid. Used in the past as a fountain for merchants, it has become a worldwide celebrity. As you travel around the world you can find various copies, such as in France, Munich and one even in Sydney. He has also been honored in film. Harry Potter fans can in fact see him in the Hogwarts school.