The face of a winged angel bearing a striking resemblance to the Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni has been erased from a fresco in a historic Rome church, putting an end to a debacle that embarrassed the Vatican.

The image on the wall painting in a chapel of the Basilica of St Lawrence in Lucina in central Rome was removed overnight, leaving the cherub headless.

The dead ringer for Meloni appeared after restoration by an amateur artist, Bruno Valentinetti, with the likeness first reported by La Repubblica on Saturday.

Valentinetti told the newspaper on Wednesday he had been asked to remove it by the Vatican. A spokesperson for the Vatican did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Valentinetti for days denied he had deliberately restored the angel’s face to look like Meloni, before confessing. “Yes, it’s the prime minister’s face,” he told La Repubblica. “But it’s similar to the previous painting.”

The altered painting was first completed in 2000 and is not protected by any heritage regulations.

The likeness to Meloni prompted investigations by Italy’s culture ministry and the diocese of Rome, with cardinal Baldo Reina, the diocese’s vicar general, expressing “bitterness” over the incident. He said: “Images of sacred art and Christian tradition cannot be misused or exploited.”

Daniele Micheletti, the basilica’s parish priest, said he had noticed “a certain resemblance” to Meloni but insisted he had instructed Valentinetti to restore the painting, which had suffered water damage, exactly as it was.

Since the story broke, the church has been filled with visitors curious to see the image for themselves. “There was a procession of people that came to see it instead of listening to mass or praying,” said Micheletti. “It wasn’t acceptable.”

Opposition politicians seized on the scandal, with members of the Five Star Movement saying in a statement that art and culture should not risk becoming “a tool for propaganda or anything else, regardless of whether the face depicted is that of the prime minister”.

Meloni had laughed off the incident, posting a picture of the painting on her Instagram account with the caption: “No, I definitely don’t look like an angel,” and a laughing emoji.