The mayor of Porto, Rui Moreira, has reversed his decision to remove the statue of “Love Camilo” by Francisco Simões from Largo Amor de Perdisan square after he found it “ugly and tasteless” this Friday.
“Contrary to the information available to the mayor of Porto, the donation also included the placement of a structure on Largo Amor da Perdisan, a donation that was approved by the municipal executive in 2012,” said a statement from the Chamber of the Municipal Council of Porto, to which CM had access.
“In this context, the President of the House cannot, without further ado, agree to what the undersigned has asked for, which is common knowledge. Naturally, this does not prevent discussion of this issue in the future and at any time. be brought up in the same municipal body,” the municipality added.
This message comes after Rui Moreira announced this Friday the removal of the statue.
“This is my decision. There are things in which I have to listen to the authorities, there are things in which I have to listen to the opinion of the population, there are things in which I have to make a decision when I know that there are extreme positions on both sides.” sides. There are those who want it and those who don’t. [retirar a estátua do largo]“The people who approached me about this are human beings, and we have to recognize that they have the merit to go through this,” the mayor said.
As the newspaper Público reported on Wednesday, there was talk of moving the “Love Camilo” statue from Largo Amor de Perdisan Square following a petition signed by 37 people, including artists, lawyers, curators and politicians.
The sculpture, created by Francisco Simões, has been installed in Largo Amor de Perdisan for 11 years and depicts the author Camilo Castelo Branco hugging a nude young girl representing Ana Placido.
Rui Moreira explained to journalists that this decision followed a letter he had received, among the signatories of which were “two of the greatest art historians of the city of Porto,” referring to Bernardo Pinto de Almeida and Miguel von Hafe Perez.
“These people express feelings about this statue that match mine. This is not because of some kind of puritanism, not because it is pornography, I don’t understand it. We have a girl naked and we will continue to do so. If you ask me, I think that in fact it’s ugly, it’s in bad taste, and this is, in fact, the mayor’s decision,” he noted, considering it expedient to demolish the statue.
“We are not going to tear down the statue, we are not going to melt the statue. It will go away and tomorrow another president may come who wants the statue to be there again,” he said, citing as an example the statue in Porto, which: according to him , will be placed back in the cathedral.
Asked about another petition against the demolition of the statue, which, however, appeared and which had 3,525 subscribers this Friday at 13:00, he confirmed that it was his decision and that the work would be transferred to the municipal reserve.
“It was a good idea to call this square Amor de Perdição, which was never called, no one will change that,” he added.
Author: morning Post This Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
I’m Sandra Hansen, a news website Author and Reporter for 24 News Reporters. I have over 7 years of experience in the journalism field, with an extensive background in politics and political science. My passion is to tell stories that are important to people around the globe and to engage readers with compelling content.