Berlusconi statue restoration outcry
Source: Agencies |
November 21, 2010, Sunday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
ITALY'S culture ministry on Friday defended Premier Silvio Berlusconi for giving ancient marble statues in his office replacement body parts, to the horror of art restorers.
The ministry, which is led by a close ally of the premier, said in a statement there's no cause for alarm: The hand added to Venus and the penis added to Mars are attached by magnets and can be removed without damage.
For decades, restorers have widely agreed that missing parts of ancient statues should not be recreated.
Rome daily La Repubblica quoted Vatican Museums director Antonio Paolucci, one of Italy's top restoration experts, as saying "it's a pity" restorers didn't say no to Berlusconi's request to add to the 2nd-century statues in Chigi Palace, the premier's office.
But Berlusconi's personal architect insisted in an interview with Associated Press Television News that the restoration was justified.
Mario Catalano said the restoration of the missing parts was based of scans of "other works with similar poses and with the agreement of the ministry's restorers."
He said the statues were among many ancient treasures relegated to the storerooms of Rome's museums because there just isn't enough space to display everything.
The ministry, which is led by a close ally of the premier, said in a statement there's no cause for alarm: The hand added to Venus and the penis added to Mars are attached by magnets and can be removed without damage.
For decades, restorers have widely agreed that missing parts of ancient statues should not be recreated.
Rome daily La Repubblica quoted Vatican Museums director Antonio Paolucci, one of Italy's top restoration experts, as saying "it's a pity" restorers didn't say no to Berlusconi's request to add to the 2nd-century statues in Chigi Palace, the premier's office.
But Berlusconi's personal architect insisted in an interview with Associated Press Television News that the restoration was justified.
Mario Catalano said the restoration of the missing parts was based of scans of "other works with similar poses and with the agreement of the ministry's restorers."
He said the statues were among many ancient treasures relegated to the storerooms of Rome's museums because there just isn't enough space to display everything.
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