Angel fresco prompts investigation after claims it resembles Italian PM Meloni following restoration
Church and government officials in Italy have launched an investigation into claims that an angel now resembles the Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni after the restoration of a fresco in Rome
Church and government officials in Italy have launched an investigation into claims that an angel now resembles Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni after the restoration of a fresco in Rome.
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Italy's culture ministry sent officers to inspect the artwork in a chapel of the Basilica of St Lawrence in Lucina, while the Diocese of Rome expressed its "disappointment" and said it would determine who had been responsible.
The artist, Bruno Valentinetti, has denied that he modelled the angel after the prime minister and said he had simply restored the fresco he painted in 2000.
The prime minister joked on Instagram in a post saying she was "definitely not like an angel", accompanied by a laughing emoji, in response to the restoration.
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The similarity was first spotted on Saturday by Italian newspaper La Repubblica, which reported the likeness alongside before-and-after pictures of the fresco and claimed the angel holding a map of Italy had previously looked like a "generic cherub".
The parish priest responded by saying he did not "understand the fuss" and that the paintings had been touched up following previous water damage.
Valentinetti, 83, denied the claims, saying: "The restored face is the one that was painted 25 years ago.
"Who says it resembles Meloni?" he asked.
Opposition parties were swift in urging an investigation, with Irene Mazni of the Democratic Party calling the situation "unacceptable" while the Five Star Movement said art must not become "a tool for propaganda", whether or not it depicted Meloni.
In response, Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli ordered "technical officials" to inspect the painting "to ascertain the nature of the intervention" and determine next steps.
The Diocese of Rome claims it knew about the restoration but that it had been told nothing would be added or changed.
In a statement shared by news agency, Ansa, it said: "The modification of the cherub's face was the decorator's initiative, not communicated to the competent authorities."
Later, reports circulated that Cardinal Baldo Reina - the Pope's Vicar for the Diocese of Rome - would immediately investigate "to determine the possible responsibilities of those involved."
It said the Cardinal "distances himself from Monsignor Micheletti's statements and expresses his disappointment over what happened" and stated its "commitment to the protection of its artistic and spiritual heritage" against misuse or exploitation.