The half-woolly sow of Piazza dei Mercanti

In front of you is the Palazzo della Ragione, the old Broletto Nuovo, built from 1228 as the seat of the city government. Under its arches justice was dispensed and deals were struck. But today we have brought you here for a tiny detail: a sow.

1Bellovesus's dream

Look high up on the arches for a small relief: an animal whose front half is covered in long wool. This is the scrofa semilanuta, the «half-woolly sow». According to legend, which draws partly on Livy, the Gaulish prince Bellovesus reached the Po plain and a goddess told him in a dream to found his city where he found such a sow. From «medio» and «lana», half and wool, came the name Mediolanum.

Linguists disagree: Mediolanum more likely means «the place in the middle of the plain».

2A lost emblem

The relief is said to have been found while digging the palace foundations, and the one you see would be a medieval copy of an older piece. Writers such as the humanist Andrea Alciato, in the 16th century, spread the woolly etymology, which has since been dismissed. In the Middle Ages the sow was Milan's main emblem, until it was replaced by the Visconti serpent.

On the square side, look out too for the relief of the podestà Oldrado da Tresseno on horseback, dating from 1233.

3What to look for

• The sow, with wool only on its front half.
• The equestrian relief of Oldrado, on the façade facing the square.
• The oval windows, added in 1773 by order of Maria Theresa.