A sculpture of a crucified frog that went on show in a Bolzano museum this weekend has sparked a backlash from local clerics and politicians who want the work removed.
The metre-high work by late German artist Martin Kippenberger belongs to his Fred the Frog series and depicts a warty, pop-eyed amphibian nailed to a cross with a frothing mug of beer in one hand.
Curators at Bolzano museum of modern art Museion said that Kippenberger's work was a self-portrait of the artist ''in a state of profound crisis'', but their explanation has been given short shrift by local bishop Wilhelm Egger.
''The crucified frog has shocked many visitors to the Museion and has hurt their religious feelings,'' Egger said.
''Even if this was not the intention of the artist or the Museion, there is a law in place that says religious feelings should be respected.
''Today the symbols of Christian faith are often held in contempt, and an exhibition of works like this one does not help to create peace between cultures and religions,'' he added.
Egger's stance was echoed on Monday by Bolzano Province President Luis Durnwalder, who described the work as ''an offence'' and called for it to be removed from the museum.
''Kippenberger was a great artist whose life was characterised by strong interior tensions and in this case it seems that he overstepped the mark,'' Durnwalder said.
Explaining that the population of Alto Adige - which is 99% Catholic - may find the work a ''provocation'', he said the sculpture should be removed while further discussion over its fate take place.
This is the second time the Bolzano museum has been in trouble for displaying a controversial work.
In 2006 Museion officials found themselves in court over an installation by Roman artists goldiechiari (Eleonora Chiari and Sara Goldschmied) that involved a toilet flushing to the musical accompaniment of Italy's national anthem.
Italy has frequently been shocked by modern art works allegedly offending religious or moral sensibilities in recent years.
In March an artist from Vicenza was investigated by police for blasphemy after he included a life-size statue of Jesus with female breasts and an erect penis in an exhibition.
Polish artist Pawel Althamer caused a stir among visitors to Milan's Sempione Park in May last year by installing a massive and anatomically detailed helium balloon representation of himself in the nude.
And a controversial installation by highly rated Italian neo-conceptualist artist Maurizio Cattalan provoked public outcry in 2004 when he hung life-size figures of three small boys from the branches of Milan's oldest oak tree.