Il Porcellino - Florence Italy

Il Porcellino (Italian "piglet") is the local Florentine nickname for the bronze fountain of a boar.

Shiny snout of Il Porcellino

Originally intended for the Boboli Garden, then moved in the Mercato Nuovo in Florence, Italy. the fountain was placed originally facing east, in via Calimala, in front of the Farmacia del Cinghiale, which is the proper italian noun for Boar. To ensure more space to the traffic it was later moved in the side facing south, where it still stands as one of the most popular spots for tourists. The present statue is only a copy, while the original is sheltered in the new Museo Bardini.

The fountain figure was sculpted and cast by Baroque master Pietro Tacca (1577 –1640) in 1612, following a marble Italian copy of a Hellenistic marble original, at the time in the Grand Ducal collections and today in display in the classical section of the Uffizi Museum.

Placing a coin in the jaws of Il Porcellino

Visitors to Il Porcellino put a coin into the gaping boar's jaws with the intent to let it fall through the underlying grating for good luck and rub the boar's snout to ensure a return to Firenze, a tradition that has kept the snout in a state of polished sheen while the rest of the boar's body has patinated to a dull brownish-green.




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Uffizi Museum

The Uffizi Gallery is a museum in Florence, Italy. Being one of the oldest and most famous art museums, the Uffizi Museum has a waiting period of five hours during peak periods.

Originally built as a palace for Cosimo I de Medici to be used as offices (uffizi) for the Florentine magistrates, the building eventually became the Uffizi Museum as more and more paintings, sculptures and art treasures were put on display in the palace.

Uffizi Museum Gallery

Uffizi Museum Gallery, inner courtyard opening toward the Arno River

Completed in 1581, the Uffizi Museum boasts of a long and narrow inner courtyard as can be seen in the picture above.

Uffizi Museum, taken from the Arno River

Here you can also see more than 200 statues of significance as commissioned by Cosimo I de Medici, besides some living statues and various artists.

A living statue -Leonardo da Vinci

Leonardo da Vinci statue

Cupid living statue

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Living Statues

The term living statue refers to a mime artist who poses like a statue or mannequin, usually with realistic statue-like makeup, sometimes for hours at a time.

Living statue performers can fool passersby and a number of hidden camera shows on television have used living statues to startle people.[citation needed] As with all performing arts, living statue performers may perform as buskers or in commissioned shows. Some living statues are also invited to perform in fine arts exhibitions.

(extracted from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki)

Pharaoh living statue

During our Europe vacation package, we saw a few living statues near the Uffizi Museum Gallery.

Cupid living statue

Leonardo da Vinci living statue