Excerpt:
The covering up of a marble statue of a muscular, half-naked Greek warrior for a conference on Islam in Italy has drawn accusations of overly-zealous cultural censorship.
The reclining statue of Epaminondas, a fourth century BC general who fought for the liberation of the Greek city-state of Thebes, was draped in a red satin sheet to spare the sensibilities of Muslim delegates.
Conservative politicians seized on the case, claiming it was an example of Italy going too far to accommodate the feelings of immigrant communities.
“Am I the only one who thinks this is madness?” said Matteo Salvini, the leader of the right-wing League party, which has been involved in tortuous negotiations to form a new government after last month’s general election produced no clear winner and a hung parliament.