Loggia del Mercato Nuovo

It is so called to distinguish it from the Mercato vecchio (IPA: [merˈkaːto ˈvɛkkjo]; "old market") that used to be located in the area of today's Piazza della Repubblica.

In the corner niches statues of famous Florentines were intended to be placed, but only three were made at the end of the 19th century: Michele di Lando by Ippazio Antonio Bortone, Giovanni Villani by Gaetano Trentanove, and Bernardo Cennini by Emilio Mancini.

Visitors are encouraged to place a coin in the mouth of the boar after rubbing its nose, and superstition implies that the wish will be granted if the offering tumbles through the grate whence the water flows.

[5] The spot was later chosen for another purpose, whence its alternative name pietra dell'acculata (IPA: [ˈpjɛːtra dellakkuˈlaːta]; approximately "stone of the bum punishment").

During the Renaissance, the punishment of insolvent debtors included being chained to a post on this spot and then paddled repeatedly on the naked buttocks.