Iranian president Hassan Rouhani met with Italian prime minister Matteo Renzi at the Capitoline museum in Rome today, but for some reason that meant they had to put boxes over the statues so Rouahni wouldn’t see any nude sculptures.
This is real, not a headline in The Onion:
Nude statues covered at #rome Capitoline museum for visit of #iran's #rouhani https://t.co/LTZ6j6SfYX via @Agenzia_Ansa
— JosephineMcKenna (@JosephineMcK) January 26, 2016
Quite a sight: Nude ancient statues covered for the visit of Iran president Hassan Rouhani in #Rome pic.twitter.com/7qOcab3rJt
— Alessandro Speciale (@aspeciale) January 26, 2016
Nude statues at Rome's Capitoline museum covered up for Rouhani's meeting w Italian PM #Iran https://t.co/dsNZorkw1c pic.twitter.com/5qOjAMDbwt
— Golnaz Esfandiari (@GEsfandiari) January 26, 2016
Rome spares Iranian president's blushes by covering nude statues https://t.co/CWZURmXaUl pic.twitter.com/K5P0SqQ9dX
— Lisa Daftari (@LisaDaftari) January 26, 2016
According to the Guardian, the decision to cover the statues was made by the prime minister’s office and was a “sign of respect” for the Iranian politician:
A spokesman for Renzi did not immediately return a request for comment. A spokesman for the city of Rome, which manages the museum, said any decision regarding the ceremony with Rouhani and display of artwork had been made by the prime minister’s office.
The decision to cover the artwork was seen as a sign of respect for the Iranian president, according to the Italian news agency Ansa.
Weak! Why even have the meeting in a museum filled with nudey art?
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