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The statue of Fido situated in front of the seat of the Municipality of Borgo San Lorenzo symbolizes the fidelity between man and animal.
The encounter between Fido (Cross of a Pointer English) and his master Mr Soriani took place in the winter of 1941 when the man found the wounded dog in a ditch. He decided to take him home and adopt it, giving him the name of Fido. Once he was cured, the dog was a faithful companion of life, so that every morning he accompanied him home to the central square of Luco del Mugello, where Soriani took the ferry to Borgo San Lorenzo. Fido went home and then returned to wait at the stop every night. On December 30, 1943, Mr. Soriani died during a bombing.
Even that evening Fido went as usual at the bus stop, but of course he did not see his owner come down. For the next fourteen years, Fido continued to go every day, for over 5000 times, to the bus stop to wait for his owner.
On November 9, 1957, the Mayor conferred a gold medal on Fido for his extraordinary loyalty, and in the same year the Commune decided to make a monument in his honor. The statue of Fido, designed by the sculptor Salvatore Cipolla, consisted of a stone base surmounted by a majolica statue depicting a dog. On the base was engraved the dedication “To Fido, example of fidelity”. A few months after the inauguration the statue was destroyed. The Commune then decided to replace it with a bronze. The latter is still in Piazza Dante at Borgo San Lorenzo.
Fido died on 9 June 1958. It was found by boys on the roadside.
News was spread to the public by the Florentine newspaper La Nazione. Fido was buried outside the communal cemetery of Luco, where Carlo Soriani was buried.
Fido was also told in this video of the Istituto Luce.
