Trending News: A curvy mermaid statue in a southern Italian town has caused quite the stir! The statue was created by students from an art school and was positioned in a square named after Nobel prize-winning scientist Rita Levi-Montalcini. Even though the artwork is yet to be officially inaugurated, photos of it during installation have been widely shared on social media, drawing criticism and ridicule.
Italian actress Tiziana Schiavarelli voiced her concerns on Instagram after a friend in Monopoli expressed doubts about the appropriateness of the statue. In an Instagram post, Tiziana Schiavarelli wrote in Italian, “At first glance, it doesn’t seem to represent the image of the famous scientist… Rather, it seems like a mermaid with two silicone breasts to report to the surgeon and above all an enormous ass never seen on a mermaid. At least not on the ones I know.”
Take a look at the post below:
However, Adolfo Marciano, the headteacher of Luigi Rosso art school, came to the defense of the controversial mermaid statue created by his students. He believes the statue is a “tribute to the great majority of women who are curvy." According to Marciano, the idea for the mermaid statue came from the students themselves. After the council approved the model, the students proceeded with the final sculpture, which was then placed in the square. He viewed the artwork as a representation of reality, particularly of the female body.
Despite the controversy, the statue is yet to be officially unveiled, but Monopoli residents are already buzzing about it. A local resident named Beppe expressed disappointment at the criticism, stating that the “art students deserve to be praised instead of criticized.”
