You’re taking a leisurely stroll in the city center of Milan, Italy’s capital of elegance and fashion, when you notice people spinning on a mosaic: what on earth is going on, you wonder. 

The answer is simple: you’re seeing people participating in a well-ingrained tradition of the Lombard city, that of the famous “dancing bull,” a curious and much-loved custom dating back to the 19th century. This practice involves placing one’s heel on a mosaic depiction of a bull’s testicles and spinning around three times, for a practice believed to bring good luck or even enhance fertility.