Rouhani: No request made for cover-up
Print Edition
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said yesterday he had not asked his Italian hosts to cover up classical nude statues in a Rome museum he visited with Prime Minister Matteo Renzi.
A smiling Rouhani told reporters he had “no contact on the subject” with Italian authorities.
“I know that the Italians are very hospitable, a people who seek to make their guests’ visits as pleasant as possible and I thank them for that,” he added.
Rouhani and Renzi made speeches in Rome’s Capitoline Museum on Tuesday, with a huge statue of Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius on a horse featuring prominently in many of the photographs of the event.
But nude statues, including a Venus dating from the second century BC, had all been covered up in temporary wooden cartons, removing the risk of them creeping into any of the shots — or catching Rouhani’s eye.
Italian Culture Minister Dario Franceschini, who accompanied Rouhani on the museum trip, called the classical cover-up “incomprehensible.”
He insisted that neither Renzi nor himself had been made aware of the decision in advance.
The Italian media yesterday railed against an “excess of zeal” and placed the blame on the office in charge of protocol during visits by foreign dignitaries.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
