Mr Berlusconi, whose cabinet includes a former topless model, decided that journalists and television cameras would be distracted by the naked form in the 254-year-old picture, Time Unveiling Truth, when he appears with visitors such as the Iraqi premier Nouri al-Maliki.
He instructed aides to replace the original, which was commissioned for a palazzo in Vicenza, with a copy that has had a white “veil” added to cover up the offending breast.
But the move has dismayed art lovers. Giancarlo Galan, the governor of the Veneto region, said: “The prime minister’s office have managed to offend one of the great artists of liberty.”
The governor of the Veneto region, which includes Venice, Giancarlo Galan also criticised the cover up of the painting.
He said:”It is not good to offend Tiepolo.
”The author of this grotesque and absurd gesture should be punished as they have offended a particular artist.
”The Prime Minister’s office have managed to offend one of the great artists of liberty.”