«Open to Meraviglia» – A Superficial Image of Italy?
Italy’s latest tourism marketing campaign, «Italia: Open to Meraviglia», featuring Botticelli’s Venus as a “virtual influencer,” has sparked controversy and raised concerns about the campaign’s superficiality and its portrayal of Italy. With a hefty budget of €9 million, the campaign has faced criticism for its mishmash of Ital-English tagline and its use of an AI-generated adaptation of Botticelli’s Venus.