An angel resembling Italy's Meloni is painted over after an outcry from church and state

ROME (AP) — Call it divine intervention, or maybe just a hasty fix-it job to put an end to days of speculation and scandal. But the end result is that the Angel Meloni is no more.

A painting of a cherub with a face bearing a remarkable resemblance to Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni had attracted large crowds to the Basilica of San Lorenzo in Lucina, one of the oldest basilicas in Rome. That angel's face was gone when the church opened its doors Wednesday: the cherub’s body remains, but the face was erased with a sloppy slab of paint or plaster.

La Repubblica newspaper, which broke the story Saturday when it published the Meloni-esque angel on its front page, said the restorer responsible for making the Meloni cherub had covered it up overnight at the request of church authorities.

Restorer Bruno Valentinetti admitted to the paper that he had styled the angel on Meloni, but didn't say why.

The diocese of Rome and the Italian Culture Ministry had both launched investigations after the image of the cherub was first published.

The original painting only dated from 2000, so it wasn’t a matter of damage to the church’s historic patrimony. But Cardinal Baldassare Reina, the pope’s vicar for Rome, insisted that a political figure had no place in church art.

The ruckus gave the basilica newfound celebrity status, with curious locals and tourists lining up to photograph the Meloni cherub, at times disrupting Mass.

In a statement Wednesday, the Culture Ministry set down the rules going forward: If the basilica plans to repaint the angel face, it needs prior authorization from the government which owns the church, the diocese of Rome which operates it and the culture ministry's special superintendency for Rome.

Lest there be any question, the Culture Ministry said that the request for permission must be “accompanied by a sketch of the image.”

Valentinetti had first made the cherub in 2000, when one of the basilica's 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.

The cherub was restored after water leaks damaged the basilica starting in 2023, and emerged with the face of Meloni.

The investigations that were launched were to identify how the original 2000 cherub looked, with the aim of restoring the painting to that image. The faceless cherub seen Wednesday appeared a temporary fix to erase Meloni’s likeness from the work.

The Italian premier had made light of the whole thing. “No, I definitely don’t look like an angel,” Meloni wrote on social media on the weekend with a laughing/crying emoji alongside a photo of the work.

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 painting inside the Basilica of San Lorenzo in Lucina in Rome depicting a cherub, right, that bore a striking resemblance to Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni shows signs of alteration after the face was removed, Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026. (Cecilia Fabiano/LaPresse via AP)

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 painting inside the Basilica of San Lorenzo in Lucina in Rome depicting a cherub that bore a striking resemblance to Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni shows signs of alteration after the face was removed, Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026. (Cecilia Fabiano/LaPresse via AP)

A detail of a fresco inside the Basilica of San Lorenzo in Lucina, in Rome, shows a cherub bearing a striking resemblance to Premier Giorgia Meloni, Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung agreed Friday to work together to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz and ease global economic uncertainties caused by the war in the Middle East.

Their summit in Seoul came as U.S. President Donald Trump slammed allies for not supporting the U.S. and Israeli war against Iran. Macron was making his first visit to South Korea since taking office in 2017, as part of an Asian tour that already has taken him to Japan.

Macron told Lee at the start of the meeting that the two countries can play a role in helping to stabilize the situation in the Middle East, including Iran’s chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz, which has unleashed shock on global energy markets.

At a joint televised briefing afterward, Macron underscored the need for France and South Korea to cooperate to help reopen the strait and deescalate Middle East animosities, while Lee said the two affirmed “their resolves to cooperate to secure the safe shipping route in the Strait of Hormuz.”

The two leaders did not take questions and did not elaborate on how they would help reopen the strait — the narrow waterway between Iran and Oman through which about one-fifth of the world’s oil usually passes.

“We need to clearly define, at the international level, the conditions for a process to ease the crisis and conflict in the Middle East,” Macron said. “We need to ensure that the Strait of Hormuz is reopened.”

Lee said he and Macron agreed to expand cooperation in technology, energy and other areas. South Korean and French officials also signed agreements to cooperate on nuclear fuel supply chains, jointly invest in an offshore wind project in southern South Korea and to collaborate on critical minerals. South Korea has moved to increase output at its nuclear reactors to mitigate the energy crunch and Lee has also called for a faster transition to renewable energy, saying the war has exposed the country’s heavy reliance on fossil fuel imports.

Macron’s Asia trip comes as Trump has ramped up his frustration with allies. In a speech Wednesday, Trump said Americans “don’t need” the strait but the countries who do “must grab it and cherish it.”

In an earlier Easter event at the White House, Trump called for his allies in Asia and China to get involved in reopening the waterway.

“Let South Korea, you know, we only have 45,000 soldiers in harm’s way over there, right next to a nuclear force — let South Korea do it,” Trump said. “Let Japan do it. They get 90% of their oil from the strait. Let China do it.”

The United States stations about 28,000 troops in South Korea, not the 45,000 stated by Trump. The U.S. troops’ deployment in South Korea is meant to deter potential aggressions from North Korea.

Macron has said reopening the Strait of Hormuz through a military operation is unrealistic.

South Korean officials have said they are in contact with Washington on the issue and that Seoul isn’t considering paying Iran transit fees to secure fuel shipments through the strait.

French President Emmanuel Macron, front left, his wife Brigitte Macron, back center, and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, front right, and his wife Kim Hea Kyung, right, attend the welcome ceremony at the presidential Blue House in Seoul Friday, April 3, 2026. (Jung Yeon-je /Pool Photo via AP)

French President Emmanuel Macron, center, his wife Brigitte Macron, left, and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, right, and his wife Kim Hea Kyung, second left, attend the welcome ceremony at the presidential Blue House in Seoul Friday, April 3, 2026. (Jung Yeon-je /Pool Photo via AP)

French President Emmanuel Macron, second left, talks with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, second right, during their meeting at the Blue House in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, April 3, 2026. (Jung Yeon-je/Pool Photo via AP)

French President Emmanuel Macron shakes hands with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung during their meeting at the Blue House in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, April 3, 2026. (Jung Yeon-je/Pool Photo via AP)