Elementary school cancels museum visit on religious grounds

(ANSA) - Florence, November 12 - A Florence elementary school canceled a class visit to a religion-themed art exhibition because it might irk non-Catholic students, sources said Thursday.
    The show titled Divine Beauty is on view at Palazzo Strozzi and includes The White Crucifixion, a canvas by Russian Jewish painter Marc Chagall, as well as work by Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso and Vincent Van Gogh.
    School officials decided to cancel the visit "to accommodate the sensibilities of non-Catholic families, given the religious theme of the show", La Nazione regional daily reported.
    Several parents objected on the grounds that much of art history is based on sacred subjects, Christian or otherwise.