The statue of the Linguacciona, Pavia, Italy, 2023 (photo)

The statue of the Linguacciona, depicts the head of a woman who carried out the activity of the laundress, a very important trade at the time. Legend has it that the laundress entrepreneur, in order to invest the money earned from the laundresses' work, had a house built on his land, but in order to do so, it was necessary for him to incur several debts. Locals, especially the laundresses, spread rumors that the entrepreneur had built his house precariously, as if it were a structure on wheels. This suggested that creditors might seize it at any moment. In response to such gossip, the entrepreneur decided to punish those who slandered him by adding the image of the "Linguacciona" to the outside of the house, symbolizing a kind of revenge against the maliciousness propagated by the laundresses, located in Borgo Ticino, on the wall of a red house on Milazzo Street. Pavia (Italy), September 6th, 2023