A new marketing campaign unveiled by Italy’s tourism ministry has stirred controversy on social media among Italians. The campaign, called “Open to Wonder”, features the face of Venus – the goddess of love, as featured in Sandro Botticelli’s 15th-century masterpieces “Primavera'' and “The Birth of Venus” – as a “virtual influencer.” The deity is dressed in modern designer clothing and is featured taking selfies, eating pizza, and riding a bicycle in front of some of Italy’s most famous landmarks, including the Colosseum in Rome and St. Mark’s Square in Venice.
The digital rendering of Venus as a modern-day influencer was created using Artificial Intelligence technology. The goddess in the campaign also comes with an Instagram account boasting 34,000 followers, filled with photos of popular Italian locations.
An announcement from Italy’s Ministry of Tourism elaborated on the decision to use Venus as the country’s new tourism spokesperson. “A Venus in the role of a modern influencer will lead every international visitor by the hand to discover our country,” it said. “We welcome Botticelli’s iconic Venus, who lends her face to tell of our beauty, from the most famous big cities to the most hidden corners of Italy.”
The €9 million, roughly $9.8 million, campaign was spearheaded by tourism minister Daniela Santanchè, who told Time Magazine that she “consciously chose Botticelli’s Venus, an icon known throughout the world and a symbol of our Italian spirit.”
But the campaign has been ridiculed online and drawn the ire of Italians who say it promotes stereotypes of the country. Art historian Tomaso Montanari called the campaign “grotesque” and an “obscene” waste of money.
Santanchè, who included many computer-generated images of pizza in the campaign, is perplexed by the backlash. She expressed her confusion to Time, saying “I don’t understand the criticism. Pizza is famous all over the world; it is part of the Mediterranean diet and of our cuisine, which is appreciated, imitated, and copied all over the world. Perhaps it is criticized by the slightly snobby and radical chic people who eat caviar and salmon.”
Asia London Palomba
Asia London Palomba is a trilingual freelance journalist from Rome, Italy. In the past, her work on culture, travel, and history has been published in The Boston Globe, Atlas Obscura, The Christian Science Monitor, and Grub Street, New York Magazine's food section. In her free time, Asia enjoys traveling home to Italy to spend time with family and friends, drinking Hugo Spritzes, and making her nonna's homemade cavatelli.