Italy has covered up ancient nude statues ahead of Iranian president Hassan Rouhani’s official visit to Rome

As the leader arrived to meet Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and the Pope, plain white boards were placed around the sculptures in the city’s Capitoline Museum.

The action was taken as a sign of respect for Mr Rouhani because Iran is a strongly conservative Islamic republic.

The decision was also made not to serve alcohol at dinners with the visiting president.

The censorship has been met with criticism

A statement issued by Iranian women’s rights campaign group My Stealthy Freedom called for female Italian politicians to speak out.

“So Italy! You respect Islamic values but the Islamic Republic of Iran does not respect our values [or] our freedom of choice,” the statement said.

“They force any non-Muslim women to cover ourselves in Iran. If you are just visiting Iran uncovered you will be deported from the airport or if you are an Iranian woman then you won’t have any education.”

Others took to Twitter to criticise the decision:

Italy's nude statues covered for Iranian president's visit.

They may have made his 9 year old wife uncomfortable.

— Bob Kostic (@causticbob) January 27, 2016

https://twitter.com/andreimuri/status/691992469744017408

It is not the first time such action has been taken.

In October 2015, ‘Gazing Ball’, a statue by Jeff Koons in Florence, was obscured when the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan visited Italy.

President Rouhani’s trip to Europe is the first since international sanctions against Iran were lifted. It is considered very important to Italy’s struggling economy.

The Italian government is hoping the Iranian contingent will sign deals worth up to 17 billion euros with Italian companies during the visit.

“This is just the beginning of a journey,” Mr Renzi said. “There are sectors where we must work closer together.”

Mr Renzi also addressed the issue of international terrorism and referenced militant group ISIS.

“I am sure this visit will be a fundamental part of our ability to overcome together the challenge of fighting terrorism, atrocity and evil that we all have to confront together,” he said.