The controversy

An angel with Meloni's face: case breaks out in Rome. The Vicariate: do not instrumentalise art

A cherub painted in a fresco in the Basilica of San Lorenzo in Lucina allegedly resembles the PM's face, who ironises on social media: 'No, I definitely don't look like an angel'

by Rome Editorial Staff

31 January 2026

Un cherubino raffigurato in un affresco della chiesa di San Lorenzo in Lucina che somiglia alla Presidente del consiglio Giorgia Meloni Roma, 31 gennaio 2026 ANSA/FABIO CIMAGLIA

5' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

5' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

'No, I definitely don't look like an angel'. This is how Giorgia Meloni, with a smiling emoticon, comments on Facebook on the press report that the face of a cherub painted in a fresco in the Basilica of San Lorenzo in Lucina resembles the premier's face. Meloni also posted the photo of the 'detail' of the fresco that would depict her face, published online. 'We did not know the affair and we are trying to investigate. We were not aware of what happened,' Vicariate sources leaked.

"No, decisamente non somiglio a un angelo". Lo scrive sui social - corredato da un emoticon sorridente, la premier Giorgia Meloni postando la foto con il dettaglio dell'affresco che ritrarrebbe un cherubino con il suo viso. Nella foto il post di Giorgia Meloni. Roma, 31 gennaio 2026. INSTAGRAM GIORGIA MELONI

The parish priest: it was not the restorer's intention to put Meloni's face

Giorgia Meloni's face on the angel in the fresco in the Chapel of the Crucifix in San Lorenzo in Lucina? "Bruno Valentinetti, the author of the restoration of the fresco, assures me that it was not his intention to put it there, neither in the original work in 2000, nor in the restoration. Having said that, after seeing it, it looks like her, it is undeniable," said Monsignor Daniele Micheletti, parish priest of the basilica, after the 'case' of the angel with the premier's face. On the reasons for the restoration, Don Micheletti explained that "when I arrived, the decorations were ruined, due to rainwater infiltration and also rising water. So I always asked Valentinetti to restore them'.

The Vicariate's distance

Then in the evening came the Vicariate's official position: 'The Cardinal Vicar of His Holiness, Baldo Reina, distances himself from Monsignor Micheletti's statements and expresses his bitterness at what happened. He will immediately initiate the necessary investigations to verify the possible responsibilities of those involved. In renewing the Diocese of Rome's commitment to safeguarding its artistic and spiritual heritage, it firmly reiterates that images of sacred art and Christian tradition cannot be the object of improper use or instrumentalisation, since they are intended exclusively to support liturgical life and personal and community prayer'. Thus a note from the Vicariate

The restorer: I redid the portrait that was there before

The resemblance to the face of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni? "You make it up. I don't notice any resemblance, I just did what was there before and that's all". Thus Bruno Valentinetti, author of the restoration of the fresco in the Basilica of San Lorenzo in Lucina in Rome, regarding the angel's resemblance to the premier's face. "I am the one who did the restoration and the work was completed a few months ago. What you see, however, was also there 25 years ago because I restored a work 25 years ago. Do you know what restoration means? It means redoing what was there before, so 25 years ago there was what you see today,' he said, assuring that 'there has always been the consent of the Superintendency because the parish priest' of the Basilica 'gave notice and showed my curriculum. Everyone,' he added, 'sees what they want. If you are happy, do it. It is the face of an angel. Have I been inspired by living people? No, they are all dead,' he added. 'I got the drawing from the trace that was there before. The resemblance to Giorgia Meloni? Other names have been mentioned. There are even those who say the other angel is Conte,' he said, laughing.

Una foto di Bruno Valentinetti, il restauratore che si è occupato dei lavori nella chiesa romana di San Lorenzo in Lucina, autore dell'angelo che sembrerebbe avere il volto della premier Giorgia Meloni. Roma, 31 gennaio 2026. ANSA

Opposition: making clear

"We demand that the Minister of Culture Alessandro Giuli immediately activate the Superintendency of Rome regarding the news about the restoration of the basilica of San Lorenzo in Lucina. What has emerged is not acceptable'. Thus a note from the leader of the PD group in the Chamber's culture committee, Irene Manzi. "This news has left us astonished and if confirmed would require the immediate intervention of the Ministry of Culture. In addition to an audit, it is necessary to ascertain who is responsible and how the work was carried out. Art and culture cannot be allowed to become an instrument of propaganda or anything else, regardless of whether the face depicted is that of the Prime Minister'. Thus in a note the M5S MPs of the Culture Committees of the House and Senate.

Fdi: delirium of the left

"We are at the point of mystical delirium, the left wing, in order to attack the government, is asking the Minister of Culture, Alessandro Giuli, to check why the face of a fresco in a restoration in the basilica of San Lorenzo in Lucina resembles that of Prime Minister Meloni. A disconcerting request that hints at the level of obsession to which the opposition in Italy, which now sees Giorgia Meloni everywhere, has reached. I would like to hope that the Pd colleague who called for Giuli's intervention to verify the regularity of the interventions made, will not go so far as to ask for the faces of Schlein, Bonelli, Fratoianni and Conte to be included in the same fresco, invoking the par condicio,' commented Susanna Donatella Campione, senator of Fratelli d'Italia and member of the Culture Commission of Palazzo Madama, ironically.

The superintendent's inspection

"We checked the state of preservation of this decoration, which, in fact, dates back to the year 2000. It is not a cultural asset, in fact it would not even be subject to protection, and then it is in a church: so there are many institutions involved, the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of the Interior, the Vicariate, the Fund for Buildings of Worship," says the special superintendent of Rome, Daniela Porro, on an inspection of San Lorenzo in Lucina, on the instructions of Minister Alessandro Giuli, to ascertain the nature of the work carried out on the contemporary painting contained in one of the chapels in which the face of an angel resembles that of Giorgia Meloni. "The Superintendency has some papers in its archives," the special superintendent of Rome continued, adding that she had instructed her officials "as early as Monday to carry out an archive search to see if there was a request for this decoration in the year 2000 and therefore with drawings, graphs or photographs representing the work at the time it was made by the restorer, also to understand if there have been any transformations with respect to the painting in 2000.

Modified, but must be agreed upon

"We have a communication from 2023 in which the rector of the church wrote to all the institutions involved that there had been infiltrations and therefore this decoration had deteriorated and it was necessary to restore the painting and it was stated that it would be restored as it was both in terms of the inconography and the style," adds Porro. Any modifications 'are allowed' because 'we are talking about a contemporary work, however, since we are in a church, modifications, if any, must have been agreed upon with all the institutions involved,' he concludes.