Bridges Squares Piazza Signoria | Ponte Vecchio | Porcellino
The Porcellino lucky fountain by Pietro Tacca in Florence
The fountain of the Porcellino, a statue made in 1612 by Pietro Tacca based on a Greek marble sculpture in the Ufizzi Gallery, stands in the loggia del Mercato Nuovo in Florence.This sculpture, commissioned from Tacca by Duke Ferdinand II, has become famous not for its beauty, but for the fact that it is said to bring good luck, as well as for a Hans Christian Andersen tale inspired by the statue: "The Bronze Boar", written in 1839.
If you place a coin on the boar's tongue, from which water is flowing, and it falls into the grate at the animal's feet, it will bring you good luck.
And even if it's just superstition, you only need to know that the coins are then collected for charity.
Bridges Squares Piazza Signoria | Ponte Vecchio | Porcellino
Back to Top of Page