by Drop a coin in his mouth, rub his nose, and good fortune could come your way: meet ‘Il Porcellino’, Sydney’s lucky pig.
The statue stands on the city side of Sydney Hospital, at the top of Martin Place.
It immediately captures your attention: a wild boar in dramatic pose, perched on its front legs. The face has great character; an alert expression, curious eyes, its mouth an almost cheeky grin.
The ground around it is dotted with plants, and small animals.
Made of bronze, the boar is a green-grey colour. The only exception is its snout, which is a dull gold; countless hands have rubbed the original exterior away, revealing the bronze hew underneath.
A plaque in front reads:
‘If coins are dropped into the fountain or donations put into the box legend says that if you rub the nose of the boar you will be endowed with good fortune.’
Many have done so.
This is ‘Il Porcellino’, aka: ‘The Little Pig’. A lucky talisman for the city, and tribute to two Italian doctors who used to work in the hospital behind.
But the boar’s story begins hundreds of years beforehand, in Renaissance Italy.
Pietro Tacca was born in Carrara, Tuscany, in September 1577. The town was small and mercantile, the primary industry quarrying marble in the nearby Apuan Alps.
This was the middle of Renaissance, when the arts flourished across Europe. High quality stone was taken from Carrara to workshops and art studios across Italy.
Tacca’s father was a quarryman, but wanted better for his son.
In 1592, he secured him an apprenticeship with the sculptor Giambologna. Based in nearby Florence, Giambologna was a well-known artisan, his large atelier producing bronze and marble statues in the Mannerist style.
Tacca showed a natural ability for the work, and began learning the commercial artist’s trade.
When Giambologna passed away in 1608, Tacca took over his master’s workshop. He began by completing several works in progress, before moving on to his own original designs.
Giambologna’s style was known for graceful elegance, Tacca’s was more forceful.
Casting large-scale bronzes was complex, and expensive. During his long apprenticeship Tacca had mastered control of foundry processes, he used these skills to create works that married bold designs with intricate details.
Success shortly followed.
Tacca became court sculptor to the Medici, a banking house that accrued great wealth and power during the Renaissance. The Medici also patronised the arts; Michelangelo, Leonardo, and Botticelli were among the famous figures they supported.
The Medici’s patronage lead Tacca to other lucrative assignments among Italy’s nobility.
The Medici also collected art, among their private holdings was a marble statue of a wild boar. This dated from classical Roman civilisation, and had been brought from Rome to Florence by the family.
In the early 1630s, they commissioned Tacca to make a bronze sculpture based on it.
Tacca designed the work in his trademark style. The boar was rendered in a strong, dramatic pose, alert and upright, with sensitive features: bristling fur, taut muscles, and an expressive face.
At the boar’s feet was an expanse of grass, populated with plants and woodland creatures. The sculpture was originally designed as a fountain, the setting was intended to convey the impression of a woodland spring.
Tacca completed the piece in 1634. It was called ‘Porcellino’, the ‘Little Pig’.
The Medici originally placed ‘Porcellino’ in the Boboli Garden, a park adjacent to their residence in Florence at Pitti Palace. After the gardens were redesigned, it was moved to the Mercato Nuovo, a covered market in the centre of town.
There it was placed in front of a pharmacy.
The boar’s striking design soon made it popular with the public. The pharmacy became known as Farmacia del Cinghiale, ‘The pharmacy of the wild boar’.
A tradition arose of placing a coin in the boar’s mouth, and rubbing its nose for luck. Exactly how this began is not known, but it caught on quickly; by the mid 18th century the practice was noted in descriptions of the market.
The coins were collected and donated to charity.
Porcellino would stand in the market for 350 years. The little pig remained iconic throughout this period, and was eagerly sought out by visitors to the Mercato Nuovo.
It was removed in 1998, for preservation. Its snout by this time had been rubbed to a dull gold colour.
Such was its popularity, it was replaced by a replica, cast at a local foundry. Tacca’s original was moved to the Museo Stefano Bardini, in Palazzo Mozzi, where it remains.
Tacca died in October 1640, leaving a significant artistic legacy. This could be seen across Italy, it more recent times it would stretch all the way to Australia.
Dr Thomas Henry Fiaschi was born in Florence, in May 1853. He began his medical training in Tuscany, but was one of many migrants drawn to Australia by the Gold Rush.
Fiaschi came to Australia in 1874, and initially practiced medicine around the Palmer River goldfields in Queensland. Later, he moved to Sydney and became a house surgeon at St Vincent’s Hospital.
There he met Catherine Ann Reynolds, a nurse and former nun.
The pair married in 1876, and returned to Italy so Fiaschi could complete his formal medical training. They returned to Australia to settle, in 1879.
Fiaschi established a medical practice in Windsor, on the outskirts of Sydney, and became known for pioneering modern surgical techniques.
His growing reputation led to his appointment as an honorary surgeon at Sydney Hospital in 1894. This was a prestigious role for a young physician, at one of the colony’s most important medical institutions.
A busy, energetic man, Fiaschi split his time between Australia and Italy, where he still had family.
He would serve in the military for both countries. In 1896 he was with the Italian Army in Abyssinia, and would later write a book about his experiences; in 1900 he commanded the New South Wales 1st Field Hospital in the Boer War, and was promoted to Major.
Fiaschi would also serve in the First World War. He received decorations from both countries for his service.
After the war he continued his practice in Sydney, and was considered one of the country’s foremost surgical experts.
Fiaschi and his wife had three sons, and two daughters. The eldest of his sons was born with a mental disability, the younger two, Piero and Carlo, would follow their father into medicine.
The youngest, Carlo, would die of a morphine overdose in 1910. While ruled accidental, it was self-administered and likely a suicide; Carlo and an attending nurse had been accused of malpractice after the death of a patient.
The middle son, Piero, would study medicine in the United States and Europe, and closely mirror his father’s career.
His overseas training put him at the forefront of medical science, he would then settle in Sydney and start a private practice that became highly successful. Like his father, Piero combined clinical practice with military service, commanding field ambulance units and serving in Gallipoli during World War I.
After the war, he returned to his clinic, and was appointed an honourary surgeon at Sydney Hospital, just as Thomas had been.
Thomas Fiaschi died of natural causes at his son’s home, in 1927. Piero would die tragically two decades later in 1948, from burns suffered from an explosion, while lighting a gas heater at Sydney Hospital.
Their impact on their adopted city was considerable.
Both had helped further medicine in Australia by introducing overseas medical techniques to the country. Thomas had translated Italian medical textbooks into English, both had helped train local surgeons, and worked for many years at Sydney hospital.
Thomas had even advanced wine making in Australia. An expert viticulturist, he planted vineyards in rural New South Wales, and was president of the State’s wine Producers’ Association for several years.
In March 1968, Thomas’s daughter, Clarissa Torrigiani, announced plans to commemorate her father and brother in Sydney.
Torrigiani had returned to Italy in her teens, and had married into nobility; in 1908 she had wed Count Luigi Torrigiani and became entitled as a Marchesa. The couple lived in Florence, where she became acquainted with Tacca’s ‘Porcellino’.
Now an older widow, she had the means to commission a commemorative statue. She chose a replica of the little pig, which had become a favourite.
‘He is a gay monument, not sad, and he works for his living. He will earn lots of money for Sydney Hospital. The children will love him.’
– Marchesa Clarissa Torrigiani, ‘Sydney Morning Herald’, March 1968
A replica of the statue was cast in Florence, and shipped to Sydney.
‘Il Porcellino’ was placed on Macquarie Street, at the front of Sydney hospital, in December 1968. It was a notable occasion for the local Italian community; a large crowd turned out for the unveiling, the Italian ambassador and Lord Mayor of Sydney were both in attendance.
Nine year old schoolboy Tom Yates was selected to be the first to place a donation in the pig’s mouth. He used a special coin struck for the occasion, with the Italian flag on one side and the Australian flag on the other.
‘It was a big event for Sydney,’ he recalled on its 50th anniversary.
The Little Pig has stood in place since, and remains popular. Visit any day, and you will likely find a small crowd, admiring it; as predicted by the Marchesa, it is a particular favourite of children.
The statue has raised more than $500 000 for the hospital, its golden snout contributing an unknown amount of good luck.
