An angel in a church in the center of Rome has been restored, supposedly to resemble Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, according to a national newspaper this Saturday (January 31). The case led the Ministry of Culture to open an investigation, while Meloni reacted to the situation with humor.
In front-page news, the daily the Republic claims that one of two angels in a chapel at the Basilica of St. Lawrence in Lucina had been altered to resemble the 49-year-old conservative, the first woman to hold the position of head of government in Italy.
The article was published accompanied by photographs of the “before” and “after” of the painting, stating that the angel previously had the appearance of a “generic cherub”.
The Ministry of Culture said it had instructed the main person responsible for Rome’s artistic heritage to carry out an inspection of the restored painting this Saturday, before “deciding the next steps”.
The opposition 5-Star Movement criticized the episode, according to Reuters: “We cannot allow art and culture to run the risk of becoming a tool of propaganda or anything else, regardless of whether the face depicted is that of the prime minister.”
The basilica’s parish priest, Daniele Micheletti, explained to the ANSA news agency that the chapel’s decorations were recently touched up due to damage caused by water infiltration. The original works only dated back to the year 2000, meaning they were not under any historical heritage protection.
The restoration was carried out by the same artist who created the original painting, Bruno Valentinetti. The artist disputed the suggestion that he had altered the image, telling journalists: “I restored what was there before… 25 years ago.”
As for Meloni, she herself published an image of the painting in question on Instagram, with the caption: “No, I definitely don’t look like an angel”, accompanied by a laughing emoji.
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