‘Too provocative’ Mermaid statue causes stir in southern Italy

Art school headteacher hails ‘tribute to the great majority of women who are curvy’ amid social media uproar

The voluptuous statue of a mermaid placed in a square in a fishing village in Puglia, southern Italy, has caused a stir for being “too provocative”.

The statue was created by students at the Luigi Rosso art school in Monopoli before being positioned in a square named after the scientist Rita Levi-Montalcini.