Italian media helps LEGO Ideas landmark hit 10K in near-record time

A LEGO model of a Sicilian landmark has rocketed to 10,000 votes on LEGO Ideas in just one week, all thanks to support from Italian media.

Here’s a lesson in reaching the review stage on LEGO Ideas: get the weight of your local and national media behind you. That’s exactly what aspiring fan designer Giovanni Mirulla did for his build of U Liotru, the ‘elephant fountain’ located in the Sicilian city of Catania, and it’s meant the project has passed 10,000 votes within a week of being submitted to the crowdsourcing platform.

“The set is a great choice for LEGO collectors who are passionate about Italian history and culture, as well as for residents of Catania, city of the Sicily region, who want to have a piece of their favourite city in their LEGO collection,” Mirulla wrote on the project page. The build recreates every aspect of the real-world landmark, from its ornate base and obelisk to its iconic basalt elephant.

The fountain is the source of various legends – including one that reckons the elephant was forged from the lava of Mount Etna by a mischievous magician – but mostly stands as a symbol of good luck for Catania. It’s also been the city’s official symbol since 1239, so there’s some real history attached to it – which may explain why it’s enjoyed such a groundswell of support.

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“I’m glad many liked the idea and it got to everyone in a short time,” Mirulla added in the comments, citing the influence of Italian media including La Sicilia and Meridio News. “Let’s hope for the production of the set, but regardless I hope it was a good showcase to relaunch Sicily, not just Catania!”

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The LEGO Ideas review board must now decide – as part of the first 2023 review – whether to produce U Liotru as an official LEGO set. But even with its raucous support, the LEGO Group may ultimately deem that the project is just a little too obscure (or region-specific) to succeed in global markets. We’ll find out for sure later this year. For now, here’s a round-up of every LEGO Ideas project in this review.

Every LEGO Ideas project in the first 2023 review

Number LEGO Ideas project LEGO Ideas user Date qualified 
1    Dr. Seuss and LEGOLegoFan_506    January 2, 2023    
2    Sweet HoneyRobertVII    January 4, 2023    
3    The Botanical GardenGoannas    January 9, 2023    
4    The Crown – A Piece of HistoryPiraten    January 12, 2023    
5    Stargate SG1: Embarkation RoomStarbrick_SG1    January 12, 2023    
6    Roscosmos Soyuz MS SpacecraftTom_Brick    January 15, 2023    
7   Motorized Howl’s Moving Castleericlego321   January 16, 2023   
8   The StargateCaptain Mutant   January 16, 2023   
9   Medieval Seaside Marketbricks_fan_uy   January 17, 2023   
10  Brick BoulevardBricky_Brick  January 19, 2023  
11  Retro Comic StoreLEGOverwatch  January 22, 2023  
12  Shrek’s Swamp – 20th AnniversaryThe Real Ashnflash  January 22, 2023  
13  Baby Green Sea Turtle – KineticQuaintWolf082  January 23, 2023  
14 Humpback WhaleLes Briques de Loïc January 25, 2023  
15 Shrek’s Swampdanielbradleyy January 26, 2023 
16 Brooklyn Nine-Nine: 99th PrecinctBen Fankhauser January 27, 2023 
17LED LampCastor-Troy and Max BrichJanuary 28, 2023
18Bricks CoffeeUTAMARU_BRICK8January 28, 2023
19Ogel Creek Saw MillKrackenator4January 31, 2023
20Hollow Knight: Forgotten CrossroadBen OsborneFebruary 1, 2023
21LEGO GodzillaMatthew EspositoFebruary 2, 2023
22Claus ToysPablo Sánchez JiménezFebruary 2, 2023
23Twilight: Cullen HouseLobsterThermidorFebruary 4, 2023
24Where’s Wally/Waldo?Iyan HaFebruary 4, 2023
25V.&T.R.R. #12, GENOASgJessFebruary 9, 2023
26River Side LodgeteraumaFebruary 14, 2023
27CATAN – The GameChristoph RugeFebruary 15, 2023
28Daft Punk – The Robotseliot.obrienFebruary 15, 2023
29Monsters Inc: The Door to MonstropolisHollyonFilmFebruary 18, 2023
30Iljinai Family HouseRock the BrickFebruary 19, 2023
31Multi-ToolTall Guy BricksFebruary 19, 2023
32Portal 2 Quantum Tunneling Device. The “Portal Gun”Hooded-BlazeFebruary 20, 2023
33LEGOLAND Train StationMind the Bricks and PatgeoFebruary 25, 2023
34E.T. the Extra-TerrestrialMarcos GaravelliFebruary 27, 2023
35Amethyst Geodegman13579March 3, 2023
36The ScreamSpacemanshipMarch 5, 2023
37U Liotru – Elephant Fountain – CataniaGiovanni MirullaMarch 6, 2023

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Author Profile

Chris Wharfe
I like to think of myself as a journalist first, LEGO fan second, but we all know that’s not really the case. Journalism does run through my veins, though, like some kind of weird literary blood – the sort that will no doubt one day lead to a stress-induced heart malfunction. It’s like smoking, only worse. Thankfully, I get to write about LEGO until then.

Chris Wharfe

I like to think of myself as a journalist first, LEGO fan second, but we all know that’s not really the case. Journalism does run through my veins, though, like some kind of weird literary blood – the sort that will no doubt one day lead to a stress-induced heart malfunction. It’s like smoking, only worse. Thankfully, I get to write about LEGO until then.

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