Two politicial parties, the right-wing Brothers of Italy (FdI) party and the left-wing Left Common Project (Spc) party in Florence have clashed over an art project called 'Eldorato, birth of a nation'.

The temporary installation by artist Giovanni De Gara, covering the front doors of the Basilica della Santissima Annunziata with the golden thermal blankets used to warm up migrants rescued at sea appeared on March 25, the day of the Annunciation and the Florentine New Year, in the Italian city of Florence.

The visual impact of the installation is strong, with the golden blankets shining bright day and night. The strong contrast between the apparent splendor of the gold and their low-cost origin is used by the artist as a reminder that they are more precious than the metal because they can save lives.

The installation is part of Eldorato: Birth of a nation, an art project that kicked off at the Basilica di San Miniato al Monte in 2018, and which has returned to Florence after being showcased on Lampedusa as well as in Venice, Genoa, Palermo, Parma and Naples. It is dedicated to those hoping to reach the "golden land" (Dorato in Italian means golden or golden coloured or covered and is a play on the idea of the promised land Eldorado) where they hope to find a better life and instead experience disappointment and pain.

The Archdiocese of Florence said the installation is aimed at encouraging a reflection on immigration and how to create a world that is open to everyone.

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FdI says exhibition is 'aesthetically disgusting'

"The pro-immigration drift of the city's left today, on the Florentine New Year, 'gifts' us the doors of one of the city's most important basilicas, Santissima Annunziata, covered in thermal blankets," commented FdI city councillors Alessandro Draghi and Giovanni Gandolfo in a note. The local politicians criticized both the installation and its location.

"On a political as well as on an artistic level, putting thermal blankets on a church is direspectful as well as aesthetically disgusting," they said, adding that an "artistic provocation should be promoted downtown, far from places of worship, with an installation made of expulsion orders. This is just ugly and lacks respect," they concluded.

The Spc party responded to the note with irony. "The Brothers of Italy party is confident it will also conquer the Vatican and ecclesiastical leaders," responded Dmitrij Palagi, a city councillor from the left-wing party Sinistra progetto comune (Left common project).

"They get angry with anyone who tries not to hate people in difficulty. It seems clear to us that they like power based on inhumanity," Palagi commented.

"Thermal blankets are ugly? Let's make branded ones then, maybe by some multinational chain not required to pay taxes. In this way, we will have migrants who are ready to wear something that does not aesthetically offend the eyes of the so-called social right which really has nothing social apart from its commitment to spark a war of the poor. If Brothers of Italy wants to tear down churches and historic monuments, it should say so clearly. They like those exercising sovereignty. Do they only want us to obey their directives and aesthetic rules?"