Fido’s Statue in Borgo San Lorenzo: The Story of Tuscany’s Most Loyal Dog

Many travelers know the story of Hachiko, the dog who waited for his owner at a train station in Tokyo. Fewer know that Tuscany has its own version, and that you can visit it on an easy day trip from Florence.

In Borgo San Lorenzo, a town in the Mugello area, a small bronze dog stands in Piazza Dante. His name was Fido, and after his owner was killed in a World War II air raid, he went back to the bus stop every single day to wait for him. He kept doing it for 14 years.

Fido’s story at a glance

• 1941: Carlo Soriani, a brickworks laborer from the village of Luco di Mugello, finds an injured puppy in a ditch, nurses him back to health and names him Fido.
• Every day: Fido walks Carlo to the bus stop in Luco’s main square in the morning and is back there in the evening when the bus brings him home.
• December 30, 1943: an Allied bombing hits Borgo San Lorenzo and the Brunori brickworks where Carlo works. More than a hundred people die, Carlo among them.
• 1944 to 1958: Fido keeps going to the bus stop every day, more than 5,000 times, waiting for a man who never gets off the bus.
• June 1958: Fido dies and is buried just outside the cemetery in Luco, where Carlo also lies.

Fido was a mixed breed with some English Pointer in him. That same evening in December 1943, he went to the bus stop as usual. The bus arrived, Carlo was not on it, and Fido came back the next day. And the day after that.

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How a village dog became famous across Italy

Over the years, the whole town got to know the dog who waited at the bus stop. The mayor of Borgo San Lorenzo exempted him from the local dog tax and officially allowed him to walk around without a muzzle.

On November 9, 1957, the town gave Fido a gold medal in front of a crowd of residents and Carlo’s widow. Italy’s national newsreel, the Istituto Luce, filmed the ceremony, and you can still watch the footage in the Luce archive.

Popular magazines such as Gente and Grand Hotel told his story. When he died the following June, the Florence daily La Nazione ran the news prominently, and the weekly La Domenica del Corriere put him on its cover: an illustration by Walter Molino showing Fido by the roadside, with the bus in the background.

His marble gravestone in Luco says, in Italian, that his name “flew around the world as a symbol of a blind loyalty not so common among men”.

The statue in Piazza Dante

The monument came while Fido was still alive. In 1957 the town commissioned sculptor Salvatore Cipolla, and the first statue, made of majolica (glazed ceramic) on a stone base, was unveiled with Fido himself and Carlo’s widow in attendance.

A few months later, the ceramic dog was smashed one night. Cipolla made a new one in bronze, and that is the statue you see today, right in front of the town hall.

Look at the stone base for the inscription: “A Fido, esempio di fedeltà”, meaning “To Fido, an example of loyalty”.

Paper flowers for Fido in 2026

In September 2026, a photo of a burning cardboard box placed on the statue’s head spread on social media and was reported by the local press. The town was not amused.

The answer came from local teenagers. Two middle school classes decided to start the school year by doing something for their “dear old Fido”, and soon the statue was covered in colorful paper flowers and handmade signs.

In a note published by the school, the students wrote: “Sorry, dear Fido, for the stupid act that offended you. Go back to running carefree in a field of flowers!”

Almost 70 years after his death, Fido is still very much part of the town.

How to visit Fido’s statue

• Where: Piazza Dante, in the center of Borgo San Lorenzo, in front of the town hall.
• Cost: free. The statue stands outdoors in a public square and you can see it at any time.
• Time needed: a few minutes for the statue itself. Pair it with a walk around the town center and a coffee in the square.

By train from Florence: regional trains run from Firenze Santa Maria Novella to Borgo San Lorenzo on the Faentina line, and the ride takes about 40 to 50 minutes. Timetables change during the year, so check them on the Trenitalia website before you go, especially the last train back.

By car: having your own wheels lets you add Scarperia, a medieval village nearby, and a stop in Luco di Mugello, where Fido lived. Since 2023, the public gardens on Via Traversi in Luco carry his name, and his grave is just outside the village cemetery. If you need a car, see our guide to renting a car in Florence.

Visiting in spring? Piazza Dante is also home to Fiorinfiera, the town’s flower fair, which in 2026 took place in April. If you would rather not rush back to Florence, check hotels in Borgo San Lorenzo.

Read also: Exploring Mugello: Tuscany’s Hidden Gem