Bull's Head in the Church of the Annunziata
Leandro Distefano - CC3.0
On the southern external wall of the church of the Annunziata in Ispica there is a bull's head carved in soft limestone.
According to popular tradition, this bull's head was commissioned by a wealthy Ispica family, the Modica Boj family.
It is said that in 1705, during a day of celebration, the family walked with their son through the streets of the Old Town. A herd of oxen also passed by and a bull, attracted by the red cloak, gored the child by dragging him through the streets of the town, frightening the people who were powerless to save the child. Thus it was that the child's mother turned to the Madonna in prayer and miraculously the little bull laid the child, safe and sound, right in front of the Basilica under construction. The family then had a three-metre wall built on the south wall at their own expense and had the bull's head sculpted to commemorate the miraculous event.
