Rome, Italy, Jan 10, 2012 / 15:01 pm
The much criticized 12-foot bronze sculpture of Blessed John Paul II that stands outside of Rome’s main train station will be revamped.
“I made a design for the sculpture that wasn’t executed well in the foundry,” explained the creator of the artwork, Italian sculptor Oliviero Rainaldi.
“It is not that we have come up with a new statue,” he told CNA on Jan. 10. “We're correcting those details that weren’t executed well” so that “it will be more faithful to my original idea.”
The redesign will involve replacing the head, modifying the Pope’s cape and touching up the outer coating of paint, since the bronze has oxidized to a light shade of green. The statue will also be raised 15 inches on a new platform, and its lighting will be improved.