Opposition calls for answers from culture minister.Italian premier Giorgia Meloni is at the centre of a bizarre controversy over reports that a restored fresco of an angel in a landmark Rome church bears a striking resemblance to her. A recent restoration project at the fifth-century Basilica of San Lorenzo in Lucina reportedly altered the face of an angel, originally a simple cherub but which now strongly resembles Meloni. The story, first reported by La Repubblica newspaper, involves a restoration of two angels flanking the marble bust of Umberto II of Savoy, the last king of Italy who reigned for only 34 days from in 1946 before the monarchy was abolished. The newspaper reports that the work was not carried out by professional restorers working on other areas of the church but was conducted by a "sacristan and decorator" who previously carried out decorative works for former premier Silvio Berlusconi and who also ran for office in Rome as a candidate for the now disbanded right-wing political coalition La Destra – Fiamma Tricolore. "An intervention of this kind, especially in a church of great artistic value, should have been intercepted by multiple levels of oversight: from the parish priest to the Superintendency responsible for overseeing the restoration" - newspaper Il Messaggero writes - "It's hard to imagine that the similarity wasn't noticed". The story has triggered a political debate in Rome, with the opposition centre-left Partito Democratico (PD) calling for answers. "We demand that culture minister Alessandro Giuli immediately contact the Superintendency of Rome regarding the news reported by La Repubblica regarding the restoration of the Basilica of San Lorenzo in Lucina. What has emerged is unacceptable", PD culture representative in the chamber of deputies, Irene Manzi, said in a statement. "The suggestion that a restoration project on a protected property could have produced an image attributable to a contemporary face represents a potential and serious violation of the Cultural Heritage and Landscape Code, which prohibits arbitrary alterations, customizations, and interventions not strictly based on scientific and historical-artistic criteria", Manzi stated. Asked by news agency ANSA for his reaction, the church's rector, Monsignor Daniele Micheletti, said: "I read the newspaper with the news this morning and went to see the restoration... Indeed, there is a certain resemblance, but we should ask the restorer why he did it that way. I don't know." Photo Il Messaggero

Italian premier Giorgia Meloni is at the centre of a bizarre controversy over reports that a restored fresco of an angel in a landmark Rome church bears a striking resemblance to her.  A recent restoration project at the fifth-century Basilica of San Lorenzo in Lucina reportedly altered the face of an angel, originally a simple cherub but which now strongly resembles Meloni. The story, , involves a restoration of two angels flanking the marble bust of Umberto II of Savoy, the last king of Italy who reigned for only 34 days from in 1946 before the monarchy was abolished. The newspaper reports that the work was not carried out by professional restorers working on other areas of the church but was conducted by a "sacristan and decorator" who previously carried out decorative works for former premier Silvio Berlusconi and who also ran for office in Rome as a candidate for the now disbanded right-wing political coalition La Destra – Fiamma Tricolore. "An intervention of this kind, especially in a church of great artistic value, should have been intercepted by multiple levels of oversight: from the parish priest to the Superintendency responsible for overseeing the restoration" - newspaper Il Messaggero writes - "It's hard to imagine that the similarity wasn't noticed". The story has triggered a political debate in Rome, with the opposition centre-left Partito Democratico (PD) calling for answers. "We demand that culture minister Alessandro Giuli immediately contact the Superintendency of Rome regarding the news reported by La Repubblica regarding the restoration of the Basilica of San Lorenzo in Lucina. What has emerged is unacceptable", PD culture representative in the chamber of deputies, Irene Manzi, said in a statement. "The suggestion that a restoration project on a protected property could have produced an image attributable to a contemporary face represents a potential and serious violation of the Cultural Heritage and Landscape Code, which prohibits arbitrary alterations, customizations, and interventions not strictly based on scientific and historical-artistic criteria", Manzi stated. Asked by news agency ANSA for his reaction, the church's rector, Monsignor Daniele Micheletti, said: "I read the newspaper with the news this morning and went to see the restoration... Indeed, there is a certain resemblance, but we should ask the restorer why he did it that way. I don't know." Photo Il Messaggero