--- title: Photo: Billboard of Topless Nun in Naples Italy Stirs Controversy description: A Rossodisera billboard of a canonical: https://time.com/3740758/topless-nun-billboard-naples-italy-pope-francis/ author: Olivia B. Waxman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-03-11T17:36:54.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:17:34.911Z og:title: Italian Billboard of a Topless Nun Is Obviously Controversial og:description: A Rossodisera billboard of a og:url: https://time.com/3740758/topless-nun-billboard-naples-italy-pope-francis/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt741a7f1cd661ef86/6987832ce53aba08d34d8036/nun-poster.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: A huge poster shows a model wearing jeans and part of a nun's habit, on a building in Naples, Italy on March 11, 2015. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Italian Billboard of a Topless Nun Is Obviously Controversial twitter:description: A Rossodisera billboard of a twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt741a7f1cd661ef86/6987832ce53aba08d34d8036/nun-poster.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Italian Billboard of a Topless Nun Is Obviously Controversial  by [Olivia B. Waxman](https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Staff Writer Mar 11, 2015 5:36 PM UTC  A huge poster shows a model wearing jeans and part of a nun's habit, on a building in Naples, Italy on March 11, 2015. A huge poster shows a model wearing jeans and part of a nun's habit, on a building in Naples, Italy on March 11, 2015.Ciro De Luca—Reuters  by [Olivia B. Waxman](https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Staff Writer Mar 11, 2015 5:36 PM UTC A billboard depicting a nearly topless nun in Naples, Italy, is stirring up controversy as the city gets ready to host Pope Francis in a couple of weeks, [Reuters reports](http://pictures.reuters.com/C.aspx?VP3=SearchResult&VBID=2C04WN56X2KWB&SMLS=1&RW=1430&RH=903). Sponsored by women’s clothing brand Rossodisera, the ad on the side of a building shows a female model wearing part of a nun’s habit—the headpiece—and blue jeans. The way she holds a rosary to pray is also an attempt to cover up her breasts. While residents reportedly think the ad is blasphemous, [“obscene” and “ugly,”](http://www.thelocal.it/20150311/furore-over-naples-nude-nun-billboard) the company claims it came up with the promotion well before the papal visit. A [statement](http://www.gazzettadelsud.it/news/132636/Il-Papa-a-Napoli--.html) to _Gazzetta del Sud_ said, “We realized we made a strong marketing choice but there was no blasphemous intent.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3740758/topless-nun-billboard-naples-italy-pope-francis/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3740758/topless-nun-billboard-naples-italy-pope-francis/"},"headline":"Italian Billboard of a Topless Nun Is Obviously Controversial","datePublished":"2015-03-11T17:36:54.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:17:34.911Z","description":"Pope Francis is supposed to visit Naples in a couple of weeks","url":"https://time.com/3740758/topless-nun-billboard-naples-italy-pope-francis/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Business topic"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt741a7f1cd661ef86/6987832ce53aba08d34d8036/nun-poster.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Olivia B. 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