“O porco mio gentil, porco dabbene, fra tutti gli animali superlativo... tu non hai in te niente di cattivo (Oh gentle pig, respectable pig, the best amongst all of the animals... there is no wickedness in you),” Anton Francesco “il Lasca” Grazzini wrote in 1500, alluding to the pig.
Its wild cousin, the boar, inherited a positive aura: this is perhaps one of the reasons the celebrated “Porcellino” (Little Pig) is seen as such a good omen.
Pope Pius IV first gave a Roman, Hellenestic marble pig to the grand duke of Tuscany in 1560, in occasion of his visit to Rome.
It is not known whether that pig had a name.
Popular folklore, however, tells that the copy which Cosimo II dei Medici had reproduced in bronze went by the name “Porcellino”.
It was a statue made by Pietro Tacca, the greatest pupil of Jean de Boulogne, the Flemish sculptor who was active in Florence and better known as Giambologna.
Duplications of “Il Porcellino” can also be seen in Belgium, France, Germany and Ecuador.
One copy was donated by the municipality of Florence to the municipality of Grosseto in 1953, in occasion of the land reforms in Maremma... and there is another copy in Sydney.
It was raining in floods that Monday, December 16, in 1968, when, in front of the Sydney Hospital in Macquarie Street, the ambassador of Italy, Mario Majoli, officially delivered the lucky monument “Il Porcellino” to Australia, in the name of marquise Clarissa Fiaschi Torrigiani.
Before her death, Clarissa put herself to the task of erecting the monumental memorial in Sydney.
With this gesture, Clarissa intended to honour the memory of her father, the general Tommaso Enrico Fiaschi and his doctor brother Pier Francesco Fiaschi.
Captain Marte Moscatelli, general manager of Lloyd Triestino, who transported the monument to Sydney on the T/N Galileo Galilei, said at that time that “in observing the “Little Pig” there is something to be proud of because it represents the history of two glorious men who should not be forgotten from the minds of Italians or Australians”.
Tommaso Enrico Fiaschi, renowned surgeon-doctor and captain-doctor of the Lanceri of NSW, fought in the Italian troops in Ethiopia in 1896, managed the battlefield hospital in the war against the Boers, participated in the Battle of Gallipoli alongside son Piero Francesco and returned to Australia with many medals and awards of honour.
In Sydney, he continued his profession as doctor-surgeon at the hospital in Macquarie Street.
He also dedicated himself to culture, in particular of the vineyards with the scope of producing good wine.
He had one vineyard on the Hawkesbury and another at Mudgee.
Fifty years have passed since that day when the Italian ambassador gifted the “Porcellino” to Australia, a physical memory of the affection that the citizens of Florence have for the people of Sydney.
This time, it isn’t raining.
The heirs of Clarissa were present.
Also present was viticulturist Peter Auld who in 1985 acquired and restored the property of Tommaso Enrico Fiaschi, planting and tending to the vines which year after year have produced better and better wines.
Linda Scott, vice mayor of the City of Sydney, placed emphasis on the great friendship which continues between Sydney and Florence: “When Jim Robertson, great nephew of Pier Francesco Fiaschi, proposed the celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of ‘Il Porcellino’, I responded with enthusiasm to the invitation because I believe strongly in the friendship between our two nations.”
Lanfranco Secco Suardo, a descendent who arrived specifically from Italy for the occasion, recalled that rainy day on December 16, 1968 when, at the age of nine years, he was present at the inauguration: “I am very proud of my great-grandmother Clarissa who had the courage to place on a ship the beautiful copy of a statue that represents the proud boar,” he said.
“Back then I was just a little boy, nonetheless the event remains strongly in my memory, encouraged by the same excitement that my great grandmother was feeling.
“The life of Thomas Fiaschi is evidence to the enormous affection he felt for the two great nations, Italy and Australia, remaining forever Italian while becoming, at the same time, completely Australian.
“My great-grandfather transmitted his love for Italy both to the sons who remained in Australia and those who departed for England and Italy.”
Lanfranco also highlighted that “today, for me, is an opportunity to meet the other descendents of our family, young and old; half a century has already passed since the laying of the statue and it gives me great pleasure to see so many people challenging the rain, to be present here today”.
Jim Robertson, the principal organiser of the day’s event, expressed his gratitude to all participants at the celebration and declared himself honoured to be in the direct line of descent.
“I am very proud that my great-grandfather worked for the first hospital of the new colony, Sydney Hospital, which was already founded in 1788,” Robertson concluded.
“Tommaso brought in new techniques which he had learnt in Great Britain and America, adopting them into the English language to facilitate study by local students.”
Tom Yates, son of Camilla, sister of Clarissa, nostalgically remembered that day 50 years ago when alongside the “Porcellino” statue two flags were unrolled: the three-coloured Italian flag and the starry blue Australian flag.
“I remember very clearly my mother saying with authority: ‘make sure your tie is straight and no hands in your pockets!’
“I want to remember the enormous contribution that Italians have made to this country, in every field; art, culture, cooking, medicine and science: an extraordinary contribution, and I am extremely proud to be a descendent of the Fiaschi family.”
On the footsteps of Tom Yates and representing the Italian community was Fabio Carosone, who brought his welcome address to the guests as president of the Cultural Association Dante Alighieri, while remembering that it was Tommaso Enrico Fiaschi who founded the association in 1896 in Australia.
Carosone listed the benefits of learning about Italian culture and language, inviting those present to attend the linguistic courses organised by the current association.
“We are here to celebrate the extraordinary contribution that Tommaso and Pietro Fiaschi left as legacy to ensure that the culture and language continue to survive in Australia,” he said.
Clarissa wished to honour Tommaso Enrico Fiaschi’s extraordinary life when at 82 years old she decided to gift the “Porcellino” lucky statue to the city where her father and his brother had made their home.
Our community is grateful to the marquise Clarissa Fiaschi Torrigiani and she will always be remembered.
According to popular tradition, the nose of the “Porcellino” brings luck; one can insert a coin into the open mouth of the animal to then let it drop; if the coin crosses through the grate you will have good fortune...
Since its placement, innumerable hands have stroked the snout of the “Porcellino”, so much so that it has transformed from brown into golden and more than $500,000 have been collected and donated to the hospital.
