Museum defies pope over crucified frog

Pahl, whose province is heavily Catholic, was so outraged by the sculpture of the pop-eyed amphibian that he went on a hunger strike to demand its removal and had to be taken to hospital during the summer.

"Surely this is not a work of art but a blasphemy and a disgusting piece of trash that upsets many people," Pahl told Reuters by telephone.

"This decision to keep the statue there is totally unacceptable. It is a grave offence to our Catholic population," he said.

Museum president Alois Lageder told Reuters the decision to keep the statue on display was made in order to "safeguard the autonomy of art institutions".

The board vote was 6-3 in favour. Art experts defended the work.

"Art must always be free and the artist should not have any restrictions on freedom of expression," Claudio Strinati, a superintendent for Rome's state museums, told an Italian newspaper on Thursday.

But Italy's culture minister, Sandro Bondi, said museums that receive state funds should not "exalt artworks of desecration, of useless provocation and of nonsense".

(Editing by Angus MacSwan.)