Milan gives bull mosaic testicles worn down by spinning tourists some TLC

The artwork is the centre of a tradition that involves visitors performing three spins on it for good fortune.

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As the legend goes, tourists in Milan who grind their heels on the bull's testicles and spin in place three times are guaranteed good fortune and are destined to return.

Visitors twirling clockwise for luck have left a small crater on the bull's "lucky spot".

"Thousands of people every day have performed the famous heel-spinning gesture," city councillors said. "The pink tiles that make up its testicles are being worn away."

The beige and blue mosaic of a prancing bull surrounded by a coat of arms is located in the city's historic 19th-Century Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II arcade. It is representative of the city of Turin, which was the first capital of Italy.