The sculpture, built in 2010, was originally exhibited on the occasion of Cattelan's retrospective at The Royal Palace of Milan.

[1] After the exhibition closed, the city Councillor for Culture Massimiliano Finazzer Flory proposed the piece to be permanent.

[2] The business community objected to the idea but after long deliberations, facilitated by Cattelan's decision to donate the sculpture, L.O.V.E.

Initially, it was planned that the sculpture, installed as part of a simultaneous Cattelan exhibition at Palazzo Reale, would remain in the square for only a week;  nevertheless, from the very first days discussions began about a possible permanent location:  Cattelan himself expressed himself with a letter to the then Milanese councillor for Culture, Massimiliano Finazzer Flory, in which he made himself available to donate the work to the city, provided that «the original spirit of the work was respected.

In the following months, despite some protests from the world of Milanese finance,  the display of the Finger was extended from time to time until between 2011 and 2012 the government of Giuliano Pisapia, Moratti's successor at Palazzo Marino, decided on its definitive installation in the heart of Italian finance, thanks to the intervention of the new assessor for Culture, Stefano Boeri.