Overview
- The mosaic in the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II is cordoned off while restorer Gianluca Galli works on-site to rebuild the worn testicles with hand-cut tesserae.
- City officials say heavy daily use from a heel-turning luck ritual has worn the area down to a visible hole and prompted the intervention.
- Galli is replacing tiles by hand and bonding them with epoxy resins and sand mortar instead of traditional lime to improve resistance to shoe heels.
- The restoration, last done in 2017, is being carried out in full view of visitors and is scheduled to be completed by Saturday.
- Officials frame the damage as a sign of the gallery's popularity and the repair has renewed calls for more trained conservators and clearer plans to balance public access with preservation.