You are here

"Wild boar" fountain in Florence

Submitted by Visit Plus on Wed, 02/20/2013 - 13:20
English

"Wild boar" fountain (Fontana del Porcellino) is one of the most popular attractions in Florence (Tuscany, Italy). Almost every tourist is coming to this fountain. The fountain is a bronze sculpture of a wild boar. From the open jaws of the beast flows water.

It is said that boar brings good luck and can fulfill wishes. You need to put a coin in the mouth of the boar. And if a coin falls into a grid (get to Municipality of Florence), then your wish will be granted. Do not forget to rub the boar's nose.

Florentine Wild boar photo The fountain is located in the heart of Florence, close to the small market (Mercato Nuovo), close to the famous bridge "Ponte Vecchio". There are always a lot of tourists.

Florence wild boar is located near the market, in the square "Piazza del Mercato Nuovo", approximately half way from the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore to the bridge Ponte Vecchio. Distance from Cathedral is approximately 300 meters. Distance from the Ponte Vecchio bridge is about 200 meters.

The figure of a boar was made by the sculptor Pietro Tacca presumably in 1634. As an example sculptor used the ancient Roman marble statue depicting the Greek myth of the boar. On the square is now installed a modern copy. The original is in a museum (Museo Bardini).

Visiting fountain tradition was known many years ago. For example English traveler Tobias Smollett wrote about it in 1766.

Copies of the Florentine boar sculptures are in many countries and cities. For example: Australia (Sydney Hospital), Canada (Butchart Gardens, Victoria), Denmark, France (Musée du Louvre, Paris), Germany (Fischereimuseum, Munich), United Kingdom (Derby Arboretum), New York (Sutton Park).

The photo was taken during a tourist trip to Italy in February 2013.

Images Gallery:

Advertisement






On our site there are advertising and partner links. This means that we can sometimes get a small share of the revenue from the sale from our partners. We do not register new users and do not store personal information. Some of the services interacting with the site use cookies to improve service.