Giorgia Meloni-style cherub in Rome basilica covered after investigation

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni took to Instagram to distance herself from the work saying she 'definitely did not look like an angel'. Photo / @giorgiameloni

A cherub artwork bearing the likeness of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has been painted over after sparking controversy and an investigation.

Last year, artist Bruno Valentinetti was commissioned to restore the fresco mural that adorns the chapel of the Basilica of St Lawrence in Lucina, central Rome. He painted the original in 2000.

However, the retouched artwork stirred outrage in the country last week, after visitors noticed its striking resemblance to Meloni.

La Repubblica published before-and-after images of the disputed cherub in its weekend edition, prompting an investigation by Italy’s Ministry of Culture.

“Who says it resembles Meloni?” Valentinetti asked, initially denying the claims.

Meloni herself responded via social media saying, “no, I definitely do not look like an angel”, with crying-laughing emojis.

But Valentinetti admitted the truth in an interview with local newspaper La Repubblica on Wednesday local time, according to the BBC.

“Yes, it is the Prime Minister’s face, but along the lines of the previous painting,” he confessed to the publication.

Artist Valentinetti said the Vatican ordered he cover up the offending artwork.

The 83-year-old said the Vatican ordered he cover up the offending section and work with “state institutions” to “restore the original”.

Newly released images of the work show grey paint smudged haphazardly over the cherub’s face.

The Ministry of Culture issued a statement on its website saying it had advised Valentinetti that any future restorations had to be pre-approved, according to CNN.

It said the works would “require a request for authorisation from the Ministry of the Interior’s Fund for Places of Worship, which owns the property, the Vicariate and the Special Superintendency of Rome, attaching a sketch of the image”.

Parish priest of the Basilica of St Lawrence, Monsignor Daniele Micheletti said he did not “understand the fuss” around the touch-ups, saying “painters used to put all sorts of things in frescoes”.

However, he acknowledged the rupture the incident had caused.

“I’ve always said that if it had created divisions, I would have had it removed,” Micheletti told a Sky Italia reporter.

“From a regulatory standpoint, the painting could have remained there for a hundred years, but it has created too many divisions in the church.”

The Vatican has not responded publicly on the scandal.

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