It was supposed to be—at least in theory—a sort of resurrection. The iron Minotaur, created by engineer and street artist Bruno Meloni, was torn down a year ago from Via Corte d'Appello in Castello just before Easter, only to be damaged and abandoned on a slope. It seemed ready to return home after a careful and meticulous restoration.
But in reality, the benevolent attempt to return the stolen goods to the community turned into a heated argument, even involving Don Luca Pretta, parish priest and rector of the Basilica of St. Maurice, on the very steps where the disputed Minotaur stood for ten years (before it was targeted by vandals). God doesn't judge, Don Luca evidently does: "When he saw we were restoring the work to its original location, he ordered me to remove it. Repeating over and over that he didn't like it," explains the artist, who studied at the nearby School of Architecture where he currently serves as a tutor. "When I refused, he had a parishioner bring him a ladder. 'This is my church, it can't be here,' he said, before removing the work himself."
All this in the presence of the traffic police, who intervened on the scene. "I'm not going into the merits of Don Luca's personal tastes or interpretative ability," Meloni explains bitterly, after finding another location for his Minotaur (located on the steps of Santa Croce). "His placement is certainly surprising, and I wonder what strong motivation lies behind his refusal to accept a work the community itself was fond of. He certainly might not like it, and I accept that, especially since the value of a public work lies in the fact that it sparks debate. The meanings attributed to it can be multiple, and very different from the artist's intention. As was the case with Icarus—son of Daedalus—who took flight from the Bastion of Santa Croce. I wonder, however, with what authority he can decide which work is appropriate or not, and where to place it."