{"id":456584,"date":"2026-02-06T00:55:09","date_gmt":"2026-02-06T00:55:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/456584\/"},"modified":"2026-02-06T00:55:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-06T00:55:09","slug":"artist-ordered-to-scrub-off-face-on-painting-after-angel-shared-resemblance-to-italian-prime-minister","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/456584\/","title":{"rendered":"Artist ordered to scrub off face on painting after angel shared resemblance to Italian Prime Minister"},"content":{"rendered":"

The face of an angel bearing a striking likeness to Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has been erased from a fresco in one of Rome’s oldest churches.<\/p>\n

Bruno Valentinetti, the 83-year-old artist who restored the painting, covered up the controversial image overnight, leaving the cherub temporarily without a face.<\/p>\n

The winged figure in the Basilica of San Lorenzo in Lucina now appears headless after a hasty application of paint or plaster removed the Prime Minister’s features.<\/p>\n

Mr Valentinetti told La Repubblica that he had been instructed by the Vatican to remove the likeness, though a spokesman for the Holy See declined to comment on the matter.<\/p>\n

The original artwork dates back to 2000, when the chapel was renovated to include a monument to Umberto II, Italy’s final monarch who ruled for a mere 34 days.<\/p>\n

The composition featured two angels watching over the king, with one cherub depicted holding a scroll showing a map of Italy while appearing to kneel before the royal bust.<\/p>\n

Water damage that began in 2023 necessitated restoration work on the Basilica.<\/p>\n

Mr Valentinetti, who serves as the church’s custodian and created the original piece, was tasked with repairing the deteriorated images.<\/p>\n

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A restored angel fresco is displayed inside the Basilica of St. Lawrence in Lucina<\/p>\n

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REUTERS<\/p>\n

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Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni joked about the fresco<\/p>\n

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GETTY<\/p>\n

When the restored fresco emerged, the winged female figure had acquired facial features unmistakably resembling the prime minister.<\/p>\n

La Repubblica first spotted the likeness on Saturday, publishing the image on its front page and sparking immediate controversy.<\/p>\n

Cardinal Baldassare Reina, the Pope’s vicar for Rome, expressed “bitterness” over the incident and insisted that political figures have no place in sacred art.<\/p>\n

“Images of sacred art and Christian tradition cannot be misused or exploited,” the cardinal declared, ordering an investigation into the matter.<\/p>\n

LATEST NEWS FROM AROUND THE WORLD<\/p>\n

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An apparent likeness of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on an angel fresco painting has now been scrubbed over,<\/p>\n

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REUTERS<\/p>\n

The Italian Culture Ministry, led by Alessandro Giuli, launched its own inquiry, with senior heritage official Daniela Porro inspecting the church on Saturday.<\/p>\n

The basilica’s priest, Rev Daniele Micheletti, said the crowds drawn by the controversial image had become unacceptable.<\/p>\n

“There was a procession of people who came to see it and take selfies, not to pray,” he told local reporters. <\/p>\n

He added that he had always maintained the image would be removed if it proved divisive.<\/p>\n

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A restored angel fresco is displayed inside the Basilica of St. Lawrence<\/p>\n

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REUTERS<\/p>\n

Ms Meloni responded to the painting, posting a photograph of the disputed fresco on Instagram accompanied by the caption: “No, I definitely don’t look like an angel,” along with a laughing emoji.<\/p>\n

Mr Valentinetti initially denied any intentional resemblance, suggesting the likeness existed only in observers’ imaginations.<\/p>\n

“You think there is a resemblance? Well, that’s up to you,” he said, adding that he had not voted for years regardless of which party held power.<\/p>\n

Days later, however, he admitted the angel did indeed bear the Italian Prime Minister’s features.<\/p>\n

The Culture Ministry has now established strict protocols for any future restoration: the basilica must obtain prior authorisation from the government, the diocese, and the ministry’s special superintendency for Rome, with any application accompanied by a sketch of the proposed image.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The face of an angel bearing a striking likeness to Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has been erased…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":456585,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[76,354,355,49,48,356,75,4996,44,714,883,33222],"class_list":{"0":"post-456584","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts-and-design","8":"tag-arts","9":"tag-arts-and-design","10":"tag-artsanddesign","11":"tag-ca","12":"tag-canada","13":"tag-design","14":"tag-entertainment","15":"tag-italy","16":"tag-news","17":"tag-politics","18":"tag-world-news","19":"tag-world-politics"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/456584","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=456584"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/456584\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/456585"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=456584"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=456584"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=456584"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}