'Angel Meloni' scrubbed off Rome church painting on priest's orders


An apparent likeness of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on an angel fresco painting is covered, after sparking political and clerical controversy, inside the Basilica of St. Lawrence in Lucina, Rome, Italy, February 4, 2026. REUTERS/Remo Casilli

ROME, Feb 4 (Reuters) - An angel ‌restored with the face of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has been ‌scrubbed off a wall painting in a central Rome church on the ‌orders of the parish priest, following a political and clerical uproar.

One of two angels in a chapel of the Basilica of St Lawrence in Lucina, close to government headquarters, was altered to look ‍virtually identical to the 49-year-old right-wing leader, Italy's first ‍woman premier.

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