Milan - Spin on the Bull - Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II

Immediately outside of the Duomo is an area known as the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, a covered arcade named after the first king of united Italy. It is considered by many to be one of the first, and perhaps most luxurious, shopping malls in the world. Unfortunately, the name "mall" does the structure no justice, since it suggests some blocky, rationalist architecture. The Galleria could not be further from that. Topped with an elegant glass and steel roof, the area is full of the top Italian and French designers, not to mention the nicest McDonald's I have ever seen.

The floor is an intricate mosaic patchwork of rope-like designs and what appeared to be the coats of arms of other Italian cities. In the center of the giant space is a mosaic of a bull on the ground. Legend holds that stepping on the bull's testicles is good luck, so eager tourists line up with cameras at the ready to do the deed. Later practices stated that you must spin around on your heel for the full good-luck effect. What this has amounted to over time is a giant, circular, heel-sized crater where the bull's nether regions used to be!

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