Church and state in Italy are investigating the appearance of a cherub resembling Meloni

ROME (AP) — There is a long tradition of painters depicting real people in their religious art, but the appearance in a Roman church of a cherub that bears a striking resemblance to Premier Giorgia Meloni has sparked a minor scandal for both church and state in Italy.

The diocese of Rome and the Italian Culture Ministry both launched investigations into the recent renovations at the Basilica of San Lorenzo in Lucina, after photographs of the Meloni-esque cherub were published in Italian newspapers this weekend. Their swift and harsh reactions indicated little tolerance for the profane in a sacred place.

The ruckus has given the basilica, already well known as one of the oldest churches in Rome, newfound celebrity status. It was jammed on Sunday and Monday with curiosity-seekers straining to photograph the angel in a side chapel up near the front altar, at times disrupting Mass.

Meloni, for her part, tried to tamp down the outcry and make light of it.

“No, I definitely don’t look like an angel,” Meloni wrote on social media with a laughing/crying emoji alongside a photo of the work.

The basilica is located on one of Rome’s fanciest piazzas just down the block from the Spanish Steps. It was consecrated in 440 by Pope Sixtus III and subsequently enlarged and rebuilt. It is now the property of the Interior Ministry, which is responsible for its upkeep.

In 2000, one of the front chapels was renovated to include a bust of the last king of Italy, Umberto II. Included in the decoration was a cherub holding a map of Italy, seemingly kneeling down before the king.

That figure is now under scrutiny since the cherub’s face, after a recent restoration, appears modeled on Meloni's. It is problematic because the cherub appears in a position of deference to the king. Italians rejected the monarchy after World War II because of its support for Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini; Meloni's right-wing party has its roots in the neo-fascist party that succeeded Mussolini.

The cherub was restored after water infiltrations damaged the basilica starting in 2023. The parish priest, the Rev. Daniele Micheletti, acknowledged the resemblance to Meloni but dismissed the significance, noting that plenty of artists depicted real life people in their works.

Caravaggio is said to have modeled the Virgin Mary on a prostitute in one of his works; Michelangelo painted himself as St. Bartholomew in the Sistine Chapel’s “The Last Judgement.”

“The priest is not responsible for the decorations in the sense that the owner is someone else,” Micheletti told The Associated Press on Monday in his office, as his phone rang constantly. “So, what do they want from me? I did not do the painting.”

Over the weekend, the Culture Ministry sent a special delegate, Daniela Porro, and ministry officials to the basilica to survey the angel. Their aim, according to a ministry statement, was to “ascertain the nature of the work” and “decide what to do.”

The restorer, for his part, has denied wrongdoing and denied he used Meloni as a model. In interviews with Italian media, Bruno Valentinetti said Meloni was in the eye of the beholder and that he merely restored the original painting, which he himself had made in 2000.

The investigations are looking to determine what the original 2000 cherub looked like.

The vicar of Rome, Cardinal Baldassare Reina, was far less forgiving. He announced an investigation and criticized Micheletti’s blasé attitude in insisting that a political figure had no place in church art.

“In renewing the diocese of Rome’s commitment to the preservation of its artistic and spiritual heritage, it is firmly reiterated that images of sacred art and Christian tradition cannot be misused or exploited, as they are intended exclusively to support liturgical life and personal and communal prayer,” the diocese said a statement.

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

A man takes a picture at a restored fresco to the memory of late Italy's King Umberto II depicting Angels inside the Basilica of St. Lawrence in Lucina in Rome, Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

People take pictures at a restored fresco to the memory of late Italy's King Umberto II depicting Angels inside the Basilica of St. Lawrence in Lucina in Rome, Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

A restored chapel with Angels depicted on a fresco to the memory of late Italy's King Umberto II is seen inside the Basilica of St. Lawrence in Lucina in Rome, Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

A detail of a restored chapel with Angels depicted on a fresco to the memory of late Italy's King Umberto II inside the Basilica of St. Lawrence in Lucina in Rome, Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — More than 200 years after being sunk by Adm. Horatio Nelson and the British fleet, a Danish warship has been discovered on the seabed of Copenhagen Harbor by marine archaeologists.

Working in thick sediment and almost zero visibility 15 meters (49 feet) beneath the waves, divers are working against the clock to unearth the 19th-century wreck of the Dannebroge before it becomes a construction site in a new housing district being built off the Danish coast.

Denmark’s Viking Ship Museum, which is leading the monthslong underwater excavations, announced its findings on Thursday, 225 years to the day since the Battle of Copenhagen in 1801.

“It’s a big part of the Danish national feeling,” said Morten Johansen, the museum’s head of maritime archaeology.

A great deal has been written about the battle “by very enthusiastic spectators, but we actually don’t know how it was to be onboard a ship being shot to pieces by English warships and some of that story we can probably learn from seeing the wreck, Johansen said.

In the Battle of Copenhagen, Nelson and the British fleet attacked and defeated Denmark’s navy as it formed a protective blockade outside the harbor.

Thousands were killed and wounded during the brutal hourslong naval clash, considered one of Nelson’s “great battles.” The intention was to force Denmark out of an alliance of Northern European powers, including Russia, Prussia and Sweden.

At the center of the fighting was the Danish flagship, the Dannebroge, commanded by Commodore Olfert Fischer.

The 48-meter (157-foot) Dannebroge was Nelson’s main target. Cannon fire tore through its upper deck before incendiary shells sparked a fire aboard.

“(It was) a nightmare to be on board one of these ships,” Johansen said. “When a cannonball hits a ship, it’s not the cannonball that does the most damage to the crew, it’s wooden splinters flying everywhere, very much like grenade debris.”

The battle also is believed to have inspired the phrase “to turn a blind eye.” After deciding to ignore a superior’s signal, Nelson, who had lost sight in his right eye, reportedly remarked: “I have only one eye, I have a right to be blind sometimes.”

Nelson eventually offered a truce and a ceasefire was later agreed with Denmark’s Crown Prince Frederik.

The stricken Dannebroge slowly drifted northward and exploded. Records say the sound created a deafening roar across Copenhagen.

Marine archaeologists have discovered two cannons, uniforms, insignia, shoes, bottles and even part of a sailor’s lower jaw, perhaps one of the 19 unaccounted-for crew members who likely lost their lives that day.

The dig site will soon be enveloped by construction work for Lynetteholm, a megaproject to build a new housing district in the middle of Copenhagen Harbor that is expected to be completed by 2070.

Marine archaeologists began surveying the area late last year, targeting a spot thought to match the flagship’s final position.

Experts say the sizes of the wooden parts found match old drawings. Dendrochronological dating, the method of using tree rings to establish the age of wood, match the year the ship was built. They also say the darkened dig site is full of cannonballs, a hazard for divers navigating waters darkened by clouds of silt stirred up from the seabed.

“Sometimes you can’t see anything, and then you really have to just feel your way, look with your fingers instead of with your eyes,” diver and maritime archaeologist Marie Jonsson said.

Chronicled in books and painted on canvases, the 1801 battle is deeply embedded in Denmark’s national story.

Archaeologists hope their discoveries may help reexamine the event that shaped the Scandinavian country and perhaps uncover personal stories of those who went into battle on that day 225 years ago.

“There are bottles, there are ceramics, and even pieces of basketry,” Jonsson said. “You get closer to the people onboard.”

Morten Johansen, head of maritime archaeology at Denmark's Viking Ship Museum, shows part of a human lower jawbone recovered from the wreck of Danish flagship "Dannebroge" that sank during the Battle of Copenhagen in 1801, in Copenhagen, Denmark, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo/James Brooks)

Archaeologists sail with boat through the harbor in Copenhagen, Denmark, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo/James Brooks)

An archaeologist points to a computer screen, showing a map of the wreck of Danish flagship "Dannebroge" that sank during the Battle of Copenhagen in 1801. in Copenhagen, Denmark, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo/James Brooks)

Morten Johansen, head of maritime archaeology at Denmark's Viking Ship Museum, shows a metal insignia recovered from the wreck of Danish flagship "Dannebroge" that sank during the Battle of Copenhagen in 1801, in Copenhagen, Denmark, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo/James Brooks)

Morten Johansen, head of maritime archaeology at Denmark's Viking Ship Museum, shows a metal insignia recovered from the wreck of Danish flagship "Dannebroge" that sank during the Battle of Copenhagen in 1801, in Copenhagen, Denmark, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo/James Brooks)