The controversial alleged likeness of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni featured on a recently restored image of an angel in a church in Rome has been scrubbed off pending a decision for its replacement.
Rome’s Basilica of Saint Lawrence in Lucina, which has been undergoing renovations, has found itself embroiled in a developing controversy following reports that a restored fresco in one of its walls was allegedly restored in Meloni’s likeness.
A fresco depicting an angel resembling Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni holding a map of Italy visible in the Basilica of San Lorenzo in Lucina on February 2, 2026 in Rome, Italy. It has now been scrubbed out. (Simona Granati – Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images)
The painting is of one of two angels angels flanking a marble bust of Italy’s last king Umberto II inside the church.
An investigation was launched by both the Diocese of Rome and the Italian Culture Minister, with the Vatican reportedly requested the removal of the Italian Prime Minister’s likeness from the angel’s face. The situation led to numerous curious people flocking to the church to take photos and record footage of the controversial restoration.
Reuters reports that the face had been already scrubbed off from the angel by the time the church opened its doors on Wednesday. Italy’s Rai News detailed that the image was covered in paint pending further modification.
In a Wednesday press release, the Diocese of Rome, nothing that the changes to the angel presented features “that did not conform to the original iconography and the sacred context,” it requested that the original face’s features be restores with full agreement with the parish priest.
The diocese noted its request is subject to coordination and authorization by Italian authorities, who hold the property of the basilica and is tasked with its upkeep.
“The Vicariate renews its commitment to promoting the artistic heritage of the Church, always through loyal and constant collaboration with the institutions of the State responsible for its protection,” the statement read in part.
“I covered it because the Vatican told me to. I don’t care, I still say it wasn’t the prime minister, but the Curia wanted it that way and I deleted it,” Italian painter Bruno Valentinetti, who was responsible for the renovation, reportedly said.
“I always said that if it was divisive, we would remove it,” the parish’s priest, Monsignor Daniele Micheletti, told the local outlet Roma Today. “And then there was a procession of people who came to see it, not to listen to Mass or pray, it wasn’t possible.”
Prime Minster Giorgia Meloni referred to the controversy when it first broke over the weekend through an Instagram post.
“No, I definitely don’t look like an angel,” Meloni’s post read. She accompanied the text with a photo of the now-scrubbed face.
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