A fountain featuring a horned faun
with an erect penis was daubed with dung by conservative
protesters near Bologna overnight.
The fountain has caused a row in the mountains near
Bologna with detractors calling it Satanic and admirers saying
it is a prime example of public art.
The work, sculpted by artist Luigi Ontani at Vergato, has
been slammed by conservative League Senator Luigi Pillon among
others.
Pillon, on his Facebook page, said it was "an imposing statue
of a devil with huge horns and a glaringly erect penis, carrying
on his back a boy with butterfly wings" and said it should be
"buried in a stream of cement".
Mayor Massimo Gnudi, of the centre-left Democratic Party,
explained that the faun represents the river Reno, carrying on
its back the Vergatello stream, while a triton at the base is
the Apennines.
"It's a work that recounts the local territory, in the
artist's typical style," he said.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © Copyright ANSA
