House Committee Will Continue to Discuss Transport of Gonzaga Bust

Bratislava, 5 June (TASR) - The parliamentary committee on culture and the media will continue to look into the transfer of the bust of Cecilia Gonzaga, and although MPs adjourned Thursday's extraordinary meeting of the committee, they should resume it during the current parliamentary session. The sitting was initiated by opposition MPs, who had a number of questions. They criticised the procedure during the transfer, as they believe that the law might have been broken and that the leadership of the Culture Ministry failed. The bust of Cecilia Gonzaga was transported from the Slovak National Museum (SNM) - Spis Museum in Levoca (Presov region) on Thursday, 29 May. The ministry referred to it as a planned move in cooperation between itself, SNM and the police. According to the ministry, the transport was in compliance with all security and legal standards. The ministry reportedly moved the bust to a highly protected location where it should have appropriate protection. It announced that international expertise will be consulted to confirm the authorship of the work. It also declared that if the authorship is confirmed, the work will be "made available to the public in an appropriate and dignified manner". [Experts have stated that the bust was probably sculpted by Renaissance master Donatello. - ed.note] am/df