An independent researcher had claimed on March 4, 2026, that a marble bust of Christ in a Roman church created by Michelangelo, a famous sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the Renaissance, the latest purported attribution to the Renaissance genius who is one of the most imitated artists in the world.
The unverified claims by Valentina Salerno have unsettled Renaissance scholars, especially since a recent sketch of a foot that was attributed to Michelangelo, but disputed by some as a copy, recently collected $27.2 million at a Christie’s auction. Given the post and also Salerno’s suggestion, several other works can now be assigned to Michelangelo based on her documentary research. Many of the leading experts have now declined to comment about the situation.
Salerno has published her theory on the commercial website academia.edu, a non-peer reviewed social networking site that academics use, and announced the first “rediscovery” at a news conference on March 4th. The claims have drawn perhaps more attention than they normally would, given the Vatican seemed at least initially interested in them.
March 6th marks the 550th anniversary of Michelangelo’s birth and there are a number of exhibits, conferences and commemorations that are reviving attention about his genius and legacy. Downtown Anchorage braces for a canine takeover as the Iditarod’s 54th run begin. Spacecraft’s impact changed asteroid’s orbit around the sun in a save-the-Earth test, study finds.
The Culture Ministry was invited to participate in Salerno’s news conference and didn’t, said the abbot of the order that runs the church, the Rev. Franco Bergamin. The Carabinieri art squad refused to weigh in on the authenticity of the statue, but said it was being protected. A laminated sign now graces the sculpture: “Alarm armed” it reads. “We hope that this asset, which belongs to our cultural heritage regardless of whether it can be attributed to Michelangelo Buonarroti or not, is part of the national heritage that we are responsible for defending,” said Lt. Col. Paolo Salvatori.
