Italy Explodes Over ‘Angel Meloni’ Church Painting： Vatican Forced Into Rare Intervention ｜ WATCH

This image is at the center of a storm in Italy. It is a picture of an angel scribbled on the wall of a chapel of the Basilica of St. Lawrence in Lucina, in central Rome. But now, the face of this winged angel has been erased. A sloppy slab of paint or plaster has been put on it. Why? Because it had a striking resemblance to the Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni. The controversy began after an artist restored a face of an angel with an uncanny likeness to Meloni. And that was enough to trigger political and clerical uproar in Italy, forcing the church and government officials to launch an investigation into the matter. After the outrage, 83-year-old artist Bruno Valentinetti admitted that it was indeed the minister's face. He, however, insisted that it was similar to the original. Valentinetti told La Repubblica that he was ordered to cover up the painting by the Vatican. Rome's Cardinal Baldassare Raina expressed displeasure at the whole incident. Raina said images of sacred art and Christian tradition cannot be misused or exploited. The Basilica of St. Lawrence, one of the oldest in Rome, which is just a five-minute walk from Meloni's office, had seen an influx of curious visitors hoping to catch a glimpse of the now infamous fresco. The ruckus gave the Basilica newfound celebrity status, with curious locals and tourists lining up to photograph the Meloni cherub, at times disrupting mass. It certainly seems to me that what we're witnessing here is nothing more than a classic case of a storm in a teacup. Now, it seemed quite evident that indeed after seeing the photo of the restoration in the newspapers, a certain resemblance was discernible, we could say. After that, if this matter, I repeat, was divisive or had caused a scandal, did they do well to decide to remove it and then perhaps restore it to its original state? But I'm afraid that no one actually knows. It's not like there are any records. It wasn't a Caravaggio, you know. The parish priest, I believe, always remained calm because, I repeat, it's not like he's just anyone. He has the responsibility, you know, to take people to mass and so on and so forth. All the rest, we can certainly say there are norms and laws that must be respected. One of the many issues is perhaps also the artist's copyright because the one who restored it is also the one who, in his time, had created the original painting. So, it's not like someone else can decide how he should do his work, but in a church there are reasons of expediency and so on and so forth. Then, I repeat, the cardinal vicar or whoever acts on his behalf can say, in Rome we'd say, get yourselves in order. He heard an interview on the television news and he claims it's purely coincidental that he sees no resemblances. However, others have pointed it out to him. But in actual fact, we specifically came here to see it for ourselves and we find a great deal of resemblance. Well, it's very Roman, isn't it? I mean, when you look at churches around Rome, so often popes and princes and cardinals have had their image incorporated into the art. She didn't ask, I don't think, to have her image incorporated in here. So, it's certainly become a tourist attraction. There are more people in there to see Maloney than there are at Santa Maria del Popolo to see the Caravaggio. If the previous image is identical to this one, then nothing needs to be done because the restoration hasn't resulted in any discrepancies from the original artwork or from the previous image. However, if a true difference is observed, then yes, it would be necessary to restore the original version. The real challenge, of course, is finding that original image. The parish priest isn't responsible for the decoration at all in the sense that the actual owner is someone else entirely. The responsibility for its protection lies with the superintendents, assuming there's even any protection for a decoration from the year 2000, which there isn't. So, what exactly are they looking for from me? But once we painted it, I certainly didn't do it myself. Maloney, I say, she tends to joke around just like I usually do. I personally have never, in any of these interviews, approached this particular topic as if it were a matter of such crucial importance, because for me it's simply not a matter of such crucial importance. It's also something quite—I find it rather a contrived affair in some ways, so I always treat it with enough irony. But as a priest, truly, if it becomes a matter of life or death, then we'll make changes. In fact, if you give me a photo, I'll put yours up. Valentinetti had first made the image in 2000, when one of the basilica's front chapels was renovated to include a bust of the last king of Italy, Umberto II. Included in the decoration was a cherub holding a map of Italy, seemingly kneeling down before the king. The cherub was restored after water infiltrations damaged the basilica starting in 2023 and emerged with the face of Maloney. The investigations that were launched were to identify how the original 2000 cherub looked, with the aim of restoring the painting to that image. The faceless cherub seen Wednesday appeared as a temporary fix to erase Maloney's likeness from the work. The government agency in charge of preserving Rome's cultural sites has now informed the Church that any further restoration work will require authorization and a sketch of the proposed image. Meanwhile, Giorgia Maloney made the controversy a light affair on social media. On her Instagram post, Maloney posted an image of the look-alike angel with the caption, No, I definitely don't look like an angel, accompanied by a laughing emoji.