An angel in a church in central Rome has been restored to resemble the prime minister of Italy, Giorgia Meloniaccording to information from the Italian newspaper The Republic this Saturday (31).
The news took the Italian Ministry of Culture investigating the case, while Meloni downplayed the situation with good humor.
On social media, posted a photo of the painting in question with the caption “No, I definitely don’t look like an angel”, accompanied by a laughing emoji.
In a front-page story, the newspaper was the first to note that one of two angels in a chapel in the Basilica of St. Lawrence in Lucina had been altered to resemble , the first woman to hold the position of .
The article included before and after photos of the painting and said the angel looked like a “generic cherub.”
The country’s Ministry of Culture said it had instructed the person primarily responsible for Rome’s artistic heritage to carry out an inspection of the restored painting on the same day, before “deciding the next steps.”
The Five Star Movement, from the party opposing the government, criticized the restoration:
“We cannot allow art and culture to run the risk of becoming a propaganda tool or anything else, regardless of whether the face depicted is that of the prime minister.”
The parish priest, Daniele Micheletti, told the ANSA news agency that the chapel’s decoration had recently been restored following water damage. The originals only dated back to 2000, so they were not under any heritage protection.
The restoration was carried out by the same artist who created the original painting, Bruno Valentinetti. He disputed the suggestion that he had altered the image, telling reporters: “I restored what was there before… 25 years ago.”
