Arturo Di Modica’s Fighting Horses sculpture installed in Catania

The monumental bronze sculpture ‘Fighting Horses’ by Arturo Di Modica has been installed in Piazza Università in Catania. The artwork, created in 2019, stands eight meters high and fourteen meters wide, depicting two horses rearing up on their hind legs.

Di Modica, the Sicilian sculptor famous for the ‘Charging Bull’ on Wall Street, originally envisioned a much larger project titled ‘Wild Horses’ for his native territory in Vittoria, which remained unfulfilled. This installation in Catania is intended to stay for one year.

The arrival of the sculpture has drawn mixed reactions from local residents. While the municipality describes the piece as a display of muscular power and elegance representing a courtship ritual, social media users have responded with irony and criticism regarding its placement and aesthetic, with some comparing the city's symbols to the new installation.