[custom_adv] No, they're not telling you to 'rock on'. In Italy the gesture is a sign you're hoping for good luck, similar to crossing your fingers in English-speaking countries. [custom_adv] Le corna ('horns') invoke bull-like strength and they're thought to ward off il malocchio or 'evil eye' – any kind of curse or ill fortune. [custom_adv] (Note that one horn, il corno, is masculine, but the plural mysteriously becomes feminine and ends unusually in ~a.) [custom_adv] You mime them whenever you want to ward off something bad happening or your plans being derailed, for instance... Vengo in Italia per Natale... facciamo le corna. [custom_adv] It's safer to do the gesture that way round since 'the horns' can also be an insult: they invoke the bull's horns that in ancient times were said to symbolize a betrayed lover. [custom_adv] For the same reason, be sure not to confuse fare le corna ('make horns') with fare le corna a qualcuno ('put horns on someone'): the latter means 'to be unfaithful'. [custom_adv] I’m coming to Italy for Christmas... fingers crossed (literally: 'let's make horns'). [custom_adv] It's similar to touching wood for luck or protection (though Italians also have another equivalent of that superstition: tocca ferro or 'touch iron', referring to rubbing a horse shoe for luck). [custom_adv] It's similar to touching wood for luck or protection (though Italians also have another equivalent of that superstition: tocca ferro or 'touch iron', referring to rubbing a horse shoe for luck). [custom_adv] It's similar to touching wood for luck or protection (though Italians also have another equivalent of that superstition: tocca ferro or 'touch iron', referring to rubbing a horse shoe for luck).