Giant penis sculpture erected in town square sparks outrage: ‘Disgusting’

Call it the artist’s magnum opus.

A sculpture of a giant, wine-soaked phallus has been erected in a town square in Italy, angering the online masses who deemed the colorful monument to manhood “disgusting” and a “piece of shit”.

Called “Tu si’ ‘na cosa grande'” (“You are a big thing”), the 39-meter-tall penis tower was recently erected in Piazza Municipio in Naples, Italy, Jam Press reported.

Amazed tourists crowded around to snap photos of the unsafe work of art, which was inaugurated today at an evening featuring Naples mayor Gaetano Manfredi.

The rainbow-colored hand helix was the brainchild of Gaetano Pesce, who died six months ago in New York City at the age of 83.

Pesce coined the “big thing” as a rendition of the iconic character Pulcinella which originated in Commedia dell’Arte – a popular form of improvised Italian comedy based on stock characters – in the 17th century. The icon, which was part of Neapolitan puppet shows, has since become an emblem of Naples.

Flanked by the massive member are two giant hearts pierced by Cupid’s arrow, which can be illuminated from within.

Pesce created the installations to “express his gratitude to these environments that bring great energy to both his creative work and the people he loves,” via a post on the late artist’s Instagram page.

However, viewers on social media did not share his enthusiasm for the penis piece, which notably replaced Michelangelo Pistoletto’s Venere Degli Stracci installation after the latter died in a fire.

“How Neapolitans can tolerate such a piece of cp is truly a mystery,” said one critic, while another wrote, “The name of the artwork is very appropriate given that it looks like a giant dildo.”

“It’s disgusting, it has nothing to do with art, this is my personal opinion,” criticized a third.

However, current mayor Gaetano Manfredi defended the artwork.

“At first when I saw it, I thought what others have thought,” argued the politician through local media. “But the idea of ​​the work is a stylized representation of the relationship between Pulcinella and the hearts of the Neapolitans.”

Manfredi claimed that the fact that the phallus “is being discussed means that the work has achieved its purpose”, adding that he thought Pesce was one of the “world’s greatest artists”.

However, one may need to call a doctor – as the phallus is said to do stay awake until December 19.