Much was made of Italy’s decision yesterday, 26 January, to shield the eyes of the Iranian president Hassan Rouhani from the nude statues at Rome’s Capitoline Museums. Officials hid Roman sculptures including the museum’s prized Venus—who modestly attempts to cover her nakedness—in large white boxes for Rouhani’s first visit to Europe since trade sanctions on Iran were lifted. Italians took to Twitter to protest censorship, posting photos of other classical masterpieces in the buff with the hashtag #statuenude, while politicians from the left and right criticised the Italian prime minister Matteo Renzi for “excessive zeal” and “cultural submission”. But Rouhani says the cover-up was a mark of Mediterranean courtesy. “I can only say the Italians are very hospitable, they try to do all they can to put guests at ease and I thank them for that,” he told journalists in Rome today.