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Two Italian hand gestures against the evil eye, made with different fingers.
Look at the fingers. The mano cornuta extends the index and little finger with the middle two folded — the shape rock audiences raise. The mano fico is a closed fist with the thumb pushed up between the index and middle fingers. Both ward off the evil eye in southern Italian tradition, and both double as insults, which is why the amulets travel better than the gestures.
Both are Italian hand gestures against the evil eye, made with different finger positions and carrying different secondary meanings.
| Mano cornuta (horned hand) | Mano fico (fig hand) | |
|---|---|---|
| Hand shape | Index and little finger extended, middle two folded | Closed fist, thumb between index and middle finger |
| Apotropaic use | Pointed downward, against the evil eye | Made or worn as a charm against the evil eye |
| As an insult | Pointed at a person, implies an unfaithful partner | Obscene in several countries |
| Modern life outside Italy | The rock and metal audience sign since the 1970s | Chiefly survives as a carved pendant |
| Relationship (from Symbolwise's records) | Commonly confused with Mano fico (fig hand) — Both are Italian hand gestures against the evil eye, made with different finger positions and carrying different secondary meanings. | Commonly confused with Mano cornuta (horned hand) — Both are Italian hand gestures against the evil eye, made with different finger positions and carrying different secondary meanings. |
Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford · retrieved 2026-08-20
A major ethnographic collection with extensive holdings of charms and amulets. Cited for the material form and provenance of objects; its historical collecting practices are themselves subject to scholarly critique.
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