So… here’s the deal…

In the center of Milan’s Galleria Vittorio Emanuele, a gorgeous 19th (!) century high-ceilinged open-air covered shopping mall opposite the Duomo, there’s a mosaic of a prancing bull. According to popular myth, you should place your right heel on the bull’s balls and spin around three times (without falling on your face). This is supposed to bring you luck, or maybe grant a wish, or maybe guarantee a return to Milan – take your pick.

No, I wasn’t inclined to do it but there were loads of people who were; at least one guy even set up his camera to get himself on film. 

spinning on the bull in Milan

What I found even more hilarious was the fact that the bull’s jewels are effectively gone, replaced by a great gaping hole in the floor, big enough to drop a tennis ball into – not the sort of ball to impress a cow, even if fuzzy and bright yellow. Guess he’s just a steer now.

Balls all gone!

If nothing else, it shows just how thick the concrete is beneath the mosaic floor.