Brescia

Somewhere in summer 2025 inbetween a trip to Northern Italy, between Milan and Verona. Not as touristy as Florence or Venice – that’s exactly why I liked it.

^{Picture by @detlev}

The city’s got this weird mix: Roman ruins, medieval corners, and then completely random modern buildings next to them. Like someone couldn’t decide what century they wanted to live in and just left everything standing.

WAIT – IS THAT A RHINOCEROS?

What stuck with me most? This damn rhinoceros.

Yeah, really a rhinoceros. Hanging from a building. In the middle of the city center.

I’m strolling across Piazza della Loggia – this beautiful Renaissance square, nice architecture – look up and there’s a life-size rhino floating in the air. Between two buildings like it’s the most normal thing in the world.

Supposed to be art. Some installation by an artist whose name I can’t remember anymore. The rhino’s stuck in a wooden crate, hanging from cables. Like someone shipped it somewhere and just… forgot? Left it hanging there?

The cheeky dark humor behind it? The whole thing is supposed to raise awareness about endangered species. So they hung a fake rhino in a crate to make people think about conservation. Got it. But also – hanging a rhino from a building? That’s a pretty striking way to get attention.

I stood there for like ten minutes just staring at it. Other people just walked past like it was completely normal. The locals probably stopped noticing it ages ago. And I’m thinking: There’s a rhinoceros hanging above my head and nobody’s concerned?

^{Picture by @detlev}

THE PHOTO THAT WAS A MUST

Obviously took a photo. Had to. When do you ever see a floating rhino?

Pretty decent shot too – you can see the whole crate, the cables, the buildings in the background. The rhino looks like it either wants to escape or just gave up. Hard to tell with rhinos.

Later I tried explaining to someone why I had a rhino-in-a-box photo on my phone. They thought I was making it up. Had to show proof. Even then they were confused.

“Why is there a rhino hanging in a box?”

“Because art.”

“But why?”

“Italy, I guess.”

That’s pretty much how it went.

The Rest of Brescia (Which Nobody Asks About)

The rest of Brescia was nice too. Good food, decent wine, not too crowded. There’s this castle on a hill – Castello di Brescia – with really great views. And in the center, remains of a Roman temple. UNESCO World Heritage, as far as I found out later.

But honestly? When I mention Brescia, everyone immediately asks about the Roman ruins or the food. Nope. Most people just want to talk about the flying rhinoceros.

It’s probably still hanging there. The rhino, I mean. Haven’t been back – didn’t check, but there are still pictures online. Still dangling. Still weird.

Italy’s got plenty of strange art installations, but this one? Flying rhinos in wooden crates. Why not.

The Actual Story (Which I Looked Up Later)

Okay so I did some digging after I got home because I couldn’t stop thinking about that rhino. Turns out it’s got a proper name and everything.

The thing’s called “The Weight of Suspended Time” or something like that in Italian – Il Peso del Tempo Sospeso.

Artist is this guy Stefano Bombardieri, he’s from Brescia actually. Born there in 1968 or something.See Stefano Bombardieri on Artsy

Here’s the weird part – the whole idea came from a Fellini film. Yeah, Federico Fellini. That director everyone pretends to have watched. The movie’s called “E la nave va” from the 80s – 1983 maybe? In it there’s this scene where they’re hoisting a sick rhino onto a ship with belts and ropes. So Bombardieri basically recreated that but made it permanent. Well, semi-permanent.

The artist said something about the rhino being a metaphor for weight or modern life or feeling stuck. We’re all hanging there, suspended, constrained but ready to step back on solid ground. Something philosophical like that. Honestly makes sense when you think about it, but at the time I was just like

“huh, flying rhino.”

Also – I got the square wrong. It’s not Piazza della Loggia, it’s Piazza Vittoria. My bad. Specifically in this covered portico area called the Quadriportico. Should’ve written it down properly but I was too busy staring at the rhino.

And get this – the installation was only supposed to be temporary. They had it up for years though, until end of 2024 apparently - I was there in August 2025. So if you go now it might be gone. Which is kind of sad actually. The city won’t be the same without that random hanging rhino.

But yeah, that’s the real story. Still think it’s brilliant. Fellini-inspired suspended rhino as a metaphor for modern existence. Only in Italy.

Read more about the sculpture: Oblong Gallery - Il Peso del Tempo Sospeso

^{pic by @detlev}