Il Porcellino

Il Porcellino, meaning ‘the little pig’, is a larger than life-sized bronze wild boar. It is located outside the Sydney’s oldest hospital, Sydney Hospital. The sculpture is an exact replica of an original by Pietro Tacca which has stood in Florence, Italy, since circa 1633.

The monument in Florence is believed to bring good luck if visitors put a coin into the boar’s gaping jaws, with the intent to let it fall through the underlying grating, and they rub the boar’s snout to ensure a return to Florence. Money collected from the monument was used to fund a hospital in Florence. In Sydney, as in Florence, donations go to assist the work of the hospital.