Rovereto Fertility Shrine – Rovereto, Italy - Atlas Obscura

Rovereto Fertility Shrine

An abandoned piece of phallic art repurposed by locals into a makeshift fertility shrine. 

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Originally meant to be gifted to the city of Rovereto, this art piece was abandoned in a field a ways past the outskirts of town. Local young people spread the information of where it was by word of mouth and began making trips out to see it and leave flowers (it’s not easy to get to and you have to go on foot).

Now there’s a recent but growing tradition of heading out to the shrine and bringing seeds as an offering. A local lady who keeps an occasional eye on the shrine says the seeds are meant to be planted in the nearby field while making a wish for something you want to grow—whether that’s your belly or your bank account. The cool thing is that the surrounding area will actually get harder to reach over time, as seeds planted by petitioners grow larger. 

Know Before You Go

This is in the woods. You can't go in a car, and if you take a 4x4 you're going to damage the local greenery and possibly some of the fresh plantings. Just drive close and walk the last quarter mile at least, or make a big trip and hike over from town. 

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August 6, 2021

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