Traditionally, Italian chicken pitchers came about after the Medici family (a very wealthy and powerful family in Renaissance Florence) was saved due to a flock of chickens.
The brother of Lorenzo the Magnificent named Guiliano decided he wanted to hold a large celebration in the village of Gallina (which no longer exists). The night of the festival (after everyone had drunk their fill of wine, beer and ate all the food they could possibly hold ... and were all soundly asleep) ... assassins hired by the Pazzis - a rival family to the Medici - tried to sneak into Gallina to kill Guiliano. They might have succeeded except the assassins crossed a yard full of chickens whose cackling and noise awoke both Guiliano and his guards.
Guiliano was so happy that his life was saved - he threw another party for the village and had artisans create ceramic chicken pitchers to use for wine and gave them as gifts to all the villagers as good luck gifts.
It is now Italian tradition to give a chicken pitcher to friends and family to protect them from danger or trespassers.
Found this little guy while up in Naples one weekend ... thought he was so charming I just had to get him. Not traditional by any stretch of the imagination ... but, I love the tuxedo!
Holly
Chicken pitchers are often given for housewarming gifts - to ensure safety from trepass and other dangers. A friend in Spain had several, one in a tuxedo. I liked the tuxedo'd one so much, I have been looking for one for myself since DH and I moved back to Sicily. Had a blue pitcher from our previous time in Sicily ... but the tuxedo'd chicken just had a lot of charm. Finally found one a few days ago while DH and I were up in Naples to attend an International Bazaar at the Joint Services Base. Hooray! Both of mine are about 8" tall .. but you can get them from just a few inches tall to over a foot-tall.
The legend behind the pitcher - is it true or merely legend? No one knows - but why tempt fate?
There were two wealthy families in the Republic of Florence in the early Renaissance period who were rivals for power. The Medici family held the power, but the Pazzi family wanted to grab it by killing the Medicis.
The Medicis, who had amassed their wealth by making peasants work their large land holdings, occasionally threw festivals for the peasants. Giuliano Medici especially liked the parties. So the Pazzis had someone suggest to Giuliano that he hold a festival in a village where one had never been held before.
The Pazzis then plotted to kill Giuliano and his guards at the end of the festival because they would be vulnerable from having drunk copious amounts of wine.
The Pazzis hired assassins, who probably would have succeeded except they had to sneak across a chicken yard to get to Giuliano. The chickens cackled in such a frenzy that it woke Giuliano and his guards, who caught and killed the assassins.
Giuliano was so excited that the chickens had warned him that he threw another festival the next night. He ordered artisans to create ceramic copies of chickens to be used as wine pitchers. Then he gave them to the peasants for good luck.
