{"id":6170,"date":"2023-05-03T11:21:58","date_gmt":"2023-05-03T15:21:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/panoramitalia.com\/?p=6170"},"modified":"2023-05-03T11:22:05","modified_gmt":"2023-05-03T15:22:05","slug":"voluptuous-mermaid-art-causes-a-stir-in-italy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/panoramitalia.com\/index.php\/2023\/05\/03\/voluptuous-mermaid-art-causes-a-stir-in-italy\/","title":{"rendered":"Voluptuous Mermaid Art Causes a Stir in Italy"},"content":{"rendered":"

The sculpture, dedicated to scientist Rita Levi-Montalcini, is described as \u201ca tribute to the great majority of women who are curvy.\u201d<\/h3>

By Rhea Nayyar<\/a>\u00a0for Hyperallergic –<\/strong> If the Floridian school board considered Michelangelo\u2019s \u201cDavid\u201d to be pornographic, Lord knows what they would say about the new public artwork unveiled last week in a small fishing town in Italy\u2019s Puglia region. A rather voluptuous mermaid sculpture called \u201cIl Mare\u201d (2023) was installed in the Rita Levi-Montalcini Square adjacent to a playground in the town of Monopoli, stirring up quite the controversy online among those who saw her body type as \u201cprovocative.\u201d<\/p>

\u201cIl Mare\u201d is one of several installments in a series commissioned by the mayor of Monopoli for the local Luigi Rosso art school for a town redevelopment project. According to the\u00a0Guardian<\/a><\/em>, Headteacher Adolfo Marciano said that the students came up with the idea on their own after being tasked with creating a sea-themed project for the public square honoring renowned Italian scientist and Nobel laureate Rita Levi-Montalcini. <\/p>

From the front, the mermaid\u2019s crossed arms hoist up her exceptionally large breasts while her rear, arguably the most eye-catching part about her, is prominently defined by what looks like surgically enhanced buttocks of the Kardashian variety.<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>

The most pressing question on everyone\u2019s mind right now is why must the mermaid be\u00a0double-cheeked up<\/a>\u00a0on a Thursday afternoon, crack and all? Do mermaids even need butts if they have fishtails instead of legs? <\/p>

Some residents of Monopoli were incited by what they viewed as an overtly sexualized statue installed beside a new playground at the square as well, questioning the town\u2019s decision to display the artwork near a place where children frequent.<\/p>

Others failed to see the connection between the well-endowed mythical creature and the Nobel laureate honored by the square, with one virtual critic mentioning that Levi-Montalcini once said, \u201cThe women who changed the world never needed to show anything but their intelligence<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>