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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Lifestyle
Angela Giuffrida in Rome

Michelangelo or bust? Researcher divides experts with attribution of sculpture

Christ the Saviour bust
The Christ the Saviour bust has been in the Roman church of St Agnes Outside the Walls since 1590. Photograph: Victor Sokolowicz/The Guardian

Fabio Orazzo should have been on his way home to Naples for the weekend. Instead, curiosity kept him in Rome, where he teaches art and history, long enough to jump on a bus to visit a little-known church in the north-east of the Italian capital.

He came to Sant’Agnese fuori le mura (St Agnes Outside the Walls), built above fourth-century catacombs, to see a marble bust depicting Christ the Saviour. A fixture in the church since 1590, it has been thrust into the spotlight by the bold claim that it could have been sculpted by Michelangelo.

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