There is another work by Maurizio Cattelan that has left its mark on the streets of Milan. If provocation is the mark of its style, L.O.V.E. is obviously the work that best showcases this. 11 metres in Carrara white marble showing a hand in a Roman salute but with all the fingers severed apart from the middle one, which points upward.

The meaning is overturned, from mark of welcome and respect, to a symbol of protest, of refusal. The very name is a contrast: not “love” but an acronym for Libertà, Odio, Vendetta, Eternità [Freedom, Hatred, Revenge, Eternity]. The work is located in Piazza Affari, in front of the Stock Exchange. This logistics choice has been interpreted as an open critique of what the building represents, even more so considering that it was inaugurated in 2010, at the height of the recession, when negative feelings towards the world of finance were at a peak. These interpretations have not been confirmed or denied by the artist, who has stated that the work is “dedicated to everyone’s imagination”. Although the sculpture was intended to be a temporary installation - it was to have been removed after two weeks - following the debate it triggered, it was decided to leave it in place, where it can still be seen today. Thus it has become one of the city’s symbols, as well as being mentioned, manipulated, chosen as a backdrop for a range of ad and awareness campaigns, from the Lega Italiana Lotta ai Tumori [Italian League for the Fight Against Cancer], SEAT, Greenpeace and more recently, Netflix.