In Turin's Piazza Castello, between the Teatro Regio and Palazzo Reale, under the porticoes of the Prefecture, there is a bronze medallion depicting Christopher Columbus, with the little finger of his right hand protracted outward.

The relief was made by Dino Somà in 1923, (Villafalletto 1886- date and location of death unknown), in memory of the participation in World War I of Italian emigrants in Latin America. At the base of the bronze medallion in high relief is the depiction precisely of Christopher Columbus in the act of measuring a globe with a compass, and a caravel can be glimpsed in the background.

Tradition has it that rubbing the little finger of Columbus' hand brings good luck, known as "the traveler's finger" and apparently brings good luck and points to the lucky course. The superstition is so widespread, considered a real talisman; especially by college students who invoke it for help in passing exams.

Fun fact: The finger is golden from constant rubbing so much that back in the past it became so thin that it had to be replaced.