Recent research (this afternoon) makes me think the ENI dog monster is likely a modified Roman she wolf, after all. I considered these exhibits:
A. She wolf on a third century BC Roman coin.
B. She wolf on a medieval Basque (Artolaguirre Family) coat of arms.
C. The ENI wolf (as I now call it):
The Basque image is a female wolf, but it turns its head up, back and away from the viewer in a threatening gesture, unlike the ancient Roman wolf that is turning its down and back toward the viewer and toward Romulus and Remus to care for them. It is a defiant version of the nurturing Roman she wolf.
I now think the ENI wolf is another defiant Roman she wolf. The artist chose the she wolf for its nationalist resonance among Italians, which has persisted since antiquity. The defiance is toward the Seven Sisters oil cartel as ENI begins to extract petroleum from its
Cortemaggiore field in Italy's Po Valley (from about 1951). I suggest the flame from its mouth alludes to a gas flare from an oil rig, which at the time was a symbol of rising Italian industrial strength and pride.
The extra legs on the wolf are artistic license. It is barely possible they were inspired by the tree roots beneath the Basque wolf, or maybe they suggest energy.
Sadly there seems to be little hope of learning the artist's intent. He was a renowned sculptor who concealed his authorship, perhaps because he did not want his name associated with commercial art. The winner was announced to be one Giuseppe Guzzi, an unknown commercial artist who was said to have moved to Argentina to enjoy his ten million lira prize and was never seen again. [Guzzi content.] The real artist's son later produced documents proving his father's authorship.
A very good source for ENI's history is their archive, which has a page dedicated to dog/monster or wolf at archiviostorico.eni
.com
/aseni/en/pills/IT-ENI-CMS0001-000038
Its author(s) don't conclude it is a wolf, however.
The transformation of the Po Valley from a poor rural region to intense industrialism can be seen by comparing two Michelangelo Antonioni movies shot in 1943 and about 1964, respectively. These are Gente del Po, a documentary, and Red Desert, a feature film. Contrary to a common interpretation that the latter film bemoans industrial development, Antononioni explained that he really intended to portray the beauty of factories and their environments. His sentiment is evidence of the positive attitude towards Italian oil development that the defiant, gas-flare-spouting ENI wolf seems to represent. (I believe Antonioni grew up in the Po Valley.)
