The face of an angel has gone around Italy, and the entire world in recent days. No, we\u2019re not talking about the cherubs in Raphael\u2019s Sistine Madonna.
We\u2019re talking about the one that appeared after a recent restoration and bore the face of the Italian prime minister, Giorgia Meloni.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The stir and controversy began when the new version of the angel appeared in one of the chapels of San Lorenzo in Lucina, in the dead center of Rome.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It became another attraction for tourists. Until this week, when its own painter, the church\u2019s sacristan, Bruno Valentinetti, painted over it with a white brushstroke, claiming it was on Vatican instructions, per his interview with the Italian newspaper, La Repubblica<\/em>. Since it first appeared, the artist had insisted that any resemblance to Meloni\u2019s face was purely coincidental, and that he never intended for his work to resemble the Roman politician.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Valentinetti also denied being a Meloni voter to the same outlet and has now been tasked to repaint the angel with the face it had before the restoration. Days later, the Diocese of Rome requested that GFX<\/strong> And so, it's settled. The next time someone visits the Church of San Lorenzo in Lucina, in the center of the Eternal City, they won't find the face of Giorgia Meloni on any of its walls. The face of an angel has gone around Italy, and the entire world in recent days. No, we\u2019re not talking about the cherubs in Raphael\u2019s Sistine Madonna.We\u2019re talking about the one that appeared after a recent restoration and bore the face of the Italian prime minister, Giorgia Meloni. The stir and controversy began when the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":758,"featured_media":86520,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[],"acf":{"video":"https:\/\/youtu.be\/mFjX6nxdKvo","video_descarga":"https:\/\/attuale.romereports.com\/news\/bfacciameloniangeloeng.mp4","international_url":"https:\/\/attuale.romereports.com\/news\/bfacciameloniangeloint.mp4","type":"bn","newsletter":"si"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.romereports.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86519"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.romereports.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.romereports.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.romereports.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/758"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.romereports.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=86519"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.romereports.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86519\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":86524,"href":"https:\/\/www.romereports.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86519\/revisions\/86524"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.romereports.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/86520"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.romereports.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=86519"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.romereports.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=86519"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.romereports.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=86519"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Social media has been flooded with jokes referencing the angel. Even Prime Minister Meloni eventually reacted to the artwork.
GFX<\/strong>
No, I definitely don\u2019t look like an angel.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Well, I find it interesting, but I\u2019m not sure I\u2019m thrilled, because I don\u2019t think anyone should be placed at that level of veneration, you know? Nor should someone place themselves in a kind of angelic state. So it\u2019s a bit\u2026 well, slightly presumptuous, though interesting<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
I think it\u2019s a bit strange. I also think the Church should be separate from politics. Yes, it\u2019s strange to enter a church\u2014which is also a cultural space\u2014and then see the face of a politician.
<\/em>And just like these two tourists who disagree with this representation of Giorgia Meloni, the Church itself also does not agree. We recall that the ultimate authority in matters of this kind is the Bishop of Rome\u2014that is, Pope Leo XIV\u2014which is why the Vicar of Rome, spoke out, expressing his \u201cbitterness over what had happened.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cthe original features of the face be restored, in the exclusive interest of safeguarding the place of worship and its spiritual function.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
AT<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"