‘They asked me to fix it, and I did’: Italian painter restores angel’s face in church — critics say it now looks like Giorgia Meloni

Italy's culture minister launched an investigation after claims emerged that the restored face of an angel in an Italian church resembled Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. The resemblance was first noticed by the newspaper La Repubblica. The newspaper noticed that one of two angles carved on a marble bust of Italy’s last king in the Basilica of St Lawrence in Lucina now had “a familiar, astonishingly contemporary face”.

“Before the restoration, there was a generic cherub. Today, it is the face of the most powerful woman in the country," the newspaper said. It was also reported that the cultural ministry sent a bunch of technicians to carry out an inspection of the winged figure. They were told by the ministry to “establish the nature of the work carried out," and would “decide what action to take”.

Moreover, a before-and-after photo was also circulated on social media after which, Meloni made a humorous post saying, “No, I definitely do not look like an angel,” alongside a laughing emoji. The priest of the church, Daniele Micheletti, told the newspaper Ansa that there was indeed a certain resemblance, but you would have to ask the restorer why it was done that way."

“I asked for the chapel to be restored exactly as it was, I don’t know," he added. The priest revealed that the restoration was needed after the chapel containing the painting sustained water damage. He also said that the original painting dated back to the year 2000 - hence, it was not under any sort of heritage protection.

Political debate

The news also escalated political tensions in the country as the members of the Five Star Movement said, “We cannot allow art and culture to risk becoming a tool for propaganda or anything else, regardless of whether the face depicted is that of the prime minister."

‘They asked me to fix it’

After this, the person who restored the painting, Bruno Valentinetti, was questioned, and he said, “They asked me to fix it, and I did. I worked on it for two years and finished the work a year ago.”

“Many things had disappeared. In restoration, you strip away the layers and the original design reappears. I traced it and put the colour back in. The design was ruined, but I managed to recover the outline and traced it," he added. He also said, “It’s not Meloni. I restored the faces to how they were 25 years ago.”