CULTURE: Julianne Moore's billboard banned in St. Mark's !

Actress Julianne Moore's suggestive photo for Bulgari is more peek-a-boo than bold, but it's still too risqué for Venice, which has barred the nudie billboard from St. Mark's Place. Moore's secrets are tucked away behind a roomy Bulgari bag and squishy lions cubs, but it's nevertheless inappropriate, ruled the town's mayor. “An advertisement showing a nude woman on a divan is not appropriate for St. Mark’s Square,” Georgio Orsoni told the Italian press.

Italians won't be entirely deprived of visions of the actress, however. She'll appear on another Bulgari billboard, but this time clothed, notes the Telegraph. The Moore uproar is just the latest in the mounting battle over the increasing use of advertisements and billboards in the historic city, which pits preservationists against those who argue money from the ads is crucial to help save historic Venice.