A giant sculpture of the late Pope John Paul
II has come under attack by Romans who believe the structure looks more
like Benito Mussolini than the popular former pontiff.
The highly abstract sculpture, which portrays John Paul in an ecclesiastical
robe with his arms outstretched in a gesture of welcome, was unveiled this
week in the large piazza outside Rome's main railway station, Termini.
Gianni Alemanno, the mayor of Rome, described the work as "modern and
evocative".
With its bald head and beetle brow, the statue, which now dominates one of
Rome's biggest squares, bears distinctly Churchillian features, although
Romans were struck more by its resemblance to Benito Mussolini.
"How could they have given such a kind pope the head of a fascist?"
said 71-year-old Antonio Lamonica. His wife called it "ugly, really
ugly." Antonio Stampete, a Rome city councillor, said:
"Installing this outside Rome's most important travel hub, where thousands of Italian and foreign tourists arrive every day, is embarrassing".
"Installing this outside Rome's most important travel hub, where thousands of Italian and foreign tourists arrive every day, is embarrassing".
The Vatican itself has criticised the work, despite the Pontifical Commission for Culture approving the original sketches.
L'Osservatore Romano, the Holy See's official mouthpiece, saying the 16-ft
high bronze sculpture's hollow form meant it resembled a "sentry box".
The newspaper said it bore little resemblance to the Polish Pope, who died in 2005 and was beatified in a lavish ceremony in St Peter's Square on May 1.
But L'Osservatore Romano said the sculpture looked as though it had been gashed by a bomb explosion and that the Pope's head was "excessively round".
There was only a distant similarity between the sculpture's features and those of the Polish pope, the newspaper said.
"For people exiting the railway station, it appears like an enormous but indistinct monument rather than an unmistakable homage to John Paul II," the newspaper said.
In an online poll by Corriere della Sera, more than 90 per cent of readers said they did not like the sculpture.
The railway station is a focus for drifters, the homeless and illegal immigrants and many locals predicted that it will be only a matter of days before the sculpture is used as a sleeping shelter or as a place to dump beer bottles and other rubbish.
The sculpture, by Oliviero Rainaldi, an Italian artist who has worked for the Vatican for more than 30 years, was unveiled on Wednesday to mark what would have been John Paul's 91st birthday.
The sculptor defended the work, saying he had wanted to create something contemporary, rather than a realistic rendition "in the style of the 19th century".
The newspaper said it bore little resemblance to the Polish Pope, who died in 2005 and was beatified in a lavish ceremony in St Peter's Square on May 1.
But L'Osservatore Romano said the sculpture looked as though it had been gashed by a bomb explosion and that the Pope's head was "excessively round".
There was only a distant similarity between the sculpture's features and those of the Polish pope, the newspaper said.
"For people exiting the railway station, it appears like an enormous but indistinct monument rather than an unmistakable homage to John Paul II," the newspaper said.
In an online poll by Corriere della Sera, more than 90 per cent of readers said they did not like the sculpture.
The railway station is a focus for drifters, the homeless and illegal immigrants and many locals predicted that it will be only a matter of days before the sculpture is used as a sleeping shelter or as a place to dump beer bottles and other rubbish.
The sculpture, by Oliviero Rainaldi, an Italian artist who has worked for the Vatican for more than 30 years, was unveiled on Wednesday to mark what would have been John Paul's 91st birthday.
The sculptor defended the work, saying he had wanted to create something contemporary, rather than a realistic rendition "in the style of the 19th century".