No art, no wine…Yes, during the visit from the Iranian president and Iranian delegation, the incredible art and fantastic wine had to go in the name of political correctness. The Italian people aren’t happy!
A gilded bronze Greek statue of Hercules (C) dated 300 BC, and equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius, dating to the Roman emperor’s reign, appear in their new hall at the Capitoline museum in Rome December 22, 2005.
Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi came under fire after ancient nude statues in Rome’s Capitoline museum were covered up to avoid any possible offense to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani who is visiting the country.
Italy and Iran will sign up to 17 billion euros of business deals during the two day visit of the Iranian delegation which began on Monday, but Italian opposition leaders and commentators said Renzi had gone too far to please his guest.
Politicians on the left and right said not only had Renzi made almost no reference to Iran’s human rights record during a joint news conference, but had also “surrendered” Italy’s cultural identity by hiding the nude statues of women.
“Respect for other cultures cannot and must not mean negating our own,” said Luca Squeri, a lawmaker in former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s center-right Forza Italia party. “This isn’t respect, it’s cancelling out differences and it’s a kind of surrender.”
Via: Vlad Tepes
