The Verraco del puente in Salamanca, Spain

The Verraco del puente, or Statue of the Bull, is an Iron Age stone statue depicting a bull, placed at the entrance of the Roman bridge in Salamanca, Spain. This statue, which is also known as the 'Bull of Salamanca', is the oldest in the city and appears in its coat of arms. Its dimensions are 2.10 metres (6 ft 11 in) long, 1.57 metres (5 ft 2 in) tall, and 70 centimetres (2.3 ft) wide. The head is missing and the body broken in half, but was rebuilt.

The Verraco del puente is one of the many verraco statues carved by the Vettones tribes in the late Iron Age, in several locations across the west of the meseta. These statues, which represent breeding pigs, bulls, bears, and other animals, are rendered as boundary markers, religious or mystic symbols, or protective elements for cattle and natural resources.

The Verraco del puente was originally located in the middle of the bridge, but has been at the entrance since 1993. It was thrown into the Tormes River in 1834 by a provincial governor who believed it was placed there by King Charles I of Spain, during the Revolt of the Comuneros. The statue, which suffered minor vandalism over the years, was eventually rescued and returned to the Roman bridge in 1954.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons