From Bulletin 2001, N.1

THE MEANING OF THE SIX-LEGGED DOG, ENI'S LOGO

Symbolism is one of the most interesting expressions of human psychology because through this we can send messages that go well beyond the limits of time and space. A successful symbol can accompany an idea, a company or product through the years, overcoming geographic and linguistic barriers. For this reason the majors have been very careful over the choice of their logo.

The competition to choose the Logo

The fire-spitting six-legged dog was chosen by AGIP in 1952 at the end of a very popular competition which saw some 4,000 entries received. The competition was the idea of Enrico Mattei, then Chief Executive Officer of AGIP. The following year the logo then passed over to ENI, the integrated oil Group created in 1953 by Mattei where AGIP held a pivotal position in with Hydrocarbon Exploration and Production activities.

The Jury, formed to judge the entries, included VIPs from the world of art and culture: Mario Sironi (artist), Giò Ponti (architect), Antonio Baldini (writer), Mino Maccari (writer and designer) and Silvio Negro (journalist). The journalist Dante Ferrari was the Secretary of the Jury.

It took 14 sittings of the jury to choose the winning drawing. The final sitting took place in Merano in September 1952 and the Six-legged Dog was chosen by unanimous vote.

The name of the author was surrounded in mystery because the name on the entry form, Giuseppe Guzzi, was not the person who invented the dog but only the person who completed the drawing. It was only many years later that the name of the inventor became known; the logo was designed by Luigi Broggini, an esteemed sculptor, designer and artist who was born in Varese in 1908 and who died in Milan in 1983. Broggini also loved graphic art and often took part in competitions like the one promoted by AGIP, but he always used a pseudonym or took part using his collaborators' names.

The various interpretations of the Six-legged Dog

The author's original meaning of the logo has never been known, because he never allowed an official interpretation to be given to the Six-legged Dog. Indeed it only came to light that Broggini was the author after his death in 1983, when his son confirmed this rumor in an interview with the journalist Dante Ferrari.

This obviously means that many people have tried to interpret the meaning of the Six-legged Dog. When Broggini's name was mentioned as its author, there was talk of Nibelungen influence because his art has similar themes. In truth, the flames gushing from the dog's mouth could conjure up Wagnerian legends.

The interpretation given by the ENI press office in the Fifties, just after the logo was created, sustained that the Dog represented a car: four of the six legs represent the wheels, while the other two are the driver's legs, almost as if to assert that the car is the fastest possible means of transport thanks to the profound symbiosis between machine and man.

Others believe that Broggini drew his inspiration on Greek and African mythology that draw animals with too many legs to symbolise supernatural strength. In Tanzania and Kenya you can still find wooden makonde statues of jaguars and lions with six legs.

There are also interpretations based on local legends. In Lodi, where AGIP discovered the first major natural gas field in Western Europe in 1944 (Caviaga), many people were convinced that the dog was chosen as AGIP's symbol because it represented a monster reputed by locals to have lived in a prehistoric lake in the Po Valley called Lake Gerundo. This monster was said to spit flame; a symbol of the presence of the natural gas which would be discovered and produced by AGIP.

In Libya, where there are close links with Greek and Roman mythology, with the cities of Leptis Magna, Sabratha, Cirene and Tolemaide, some believe that the Dog represents the Roman Wolf whose extra two legs stylise Romulus and Remus feeding.

This is a well-known image for many Libyans because a huge bronze wolf with Romulus and Remus dominated the Bengasi seafront until 1970, before it was moved to another square on the outskirts of Tripoli.

Without a doubt the Six-legged Dog has been a real success in Italy and abroad. Almost 50 years on, it still shows an uncommon vitality and strength, just like the company it represents.