Controversial JP II statue unveiled in Rome

John Paul II statue in Rome. Photo: EPA

In an internet survey, 87 percent of the readers of leading newspaper paper Il Messaggero indicated that they did not like the work.

The five-and-a-half metre high bronze sculpture was created by noted Italian artist Oliviero Rainaldi and was unveiled outside the city's main Termini railway station to mark what would have been the Polish pontiff's 91st birthday.

One of the central criticisms is that there is very little resemblance to the late pope in the face depicted by Rainaldi.

Other objections have sprung up concerning the main body of the monument.

The inspiration for the sculpture was a 1993 photograph in which the pope engaged in one of his characteristic flourishes of humour. Whilst standing on the steps of the Paul IV Audience Hall in Rome, the pontiff swept his mantle around a child sitting beneath him, in pantomime style.

Mayor of Rome Gianni Alemanno, who unveiled the statue, called the work “strikingly beautiful”, whilst Cardinal Vallini noted the thematic expression of “mutual acceptance.”

However, critics of the sculpture claim that something is not quite right in the image's translation to bronze. Journalists from Italian paper Corriere della Sera, quoted one priest as saying that the sculpture resembled “a military sentry box, but gutted.”

Another observer suggested that sculpture could become a refuge for the homeless that gather at the railway station, although in reality, that eventuality may well have pleased the Pope. (nh/pg)