Meloni jokes about angel likeness on Instagram

The face of an angel resembling Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has been erased from a restored fresco at the San Lorenzo in Lucina church in central Rome, on the order of the parish priest, following a controversy that was both political and clerical, Reuters reported.

One of two angels in a chapel of the Basilica of San Lorenzo in Lucina, located near government headquarters, had been altered to look almost identical to the 49-year-old right-wing leader, Italy’s first female prime minister, CE Report quotes AGERPRES.

News of the angel bearing Meloni’s likeness was published on Saturday by the center-left newspaper La Repubblica and sparked outrage among opposition figures, as well as irritation from Cardinal Baldo Reina, the vicar general of the Diocese of Rome.

On Wednesday, when the church reopened, Meloni’s face had disappeared after the angel’s head was painted over.

“I have always said that if the image (of Meloni) proved controversial, we would remove it,” the church’s priest, Daniele Micheletti, told Italian news agency ANSA. “We had a procession of people coming to see it instead of attending Mass or praying. That is not acceptable,” he added.

The amateur artist who restored the painting, Bruno Valentinetti, was quoted by Repubblica on Wednesday as saying that the Vatican had asked him to erase it.

A Vatican spokesperson declined to comment, while the Diocese of Rome said it would issue a statement later.

On Saturday, Cardinal Reina expressed his “bitterness” over the incident, ordered an investigation, and warned that “images of sacred art and Christian tradition cannot be used or exploited improperly.”

Italy’s Ministry of Culture also announced an investigation, while Meloni herself laughed off the incident. She posted an image of the fresco on Instagram, accompanied by the comment: “No, I definitely don’t look like an angel,” followed by a laughing emoji.