The covering up of a marble statue of a muscular, half-naked Greek warrior for a conference on Islam in Italy has drawn accusations of overly-zealous cultural censorship.

The reclining statue of Epaminondas, a fourth century BC general who fought for the liberation of the Greek city-state of Thebes, was draped in a red satin sheet to spare the sensibilities of Muslim delegates.

Conservative politicians seized on the case, claiming it was an example of Italy going too far to accommodate the feelings of immigrant communities.

“Am I the only one who thinks this is madness?” said Matteo Salvini, the leader of the Right-wing League party, which has been involved in tortuous negotiations to form a new government after last month’s general election produced no clear winner and a hung parliament.

Laura Comi, an MEP from Forza Italia, the centre-Right party run by former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, said: “We should be proud of our cultural heritage. Censoring is unacceptable.”

Ylenia Lucaselli, from the hard-Right Brothers of Italy party, said the covering up of the statue was “a collateral effect of failed multiculturalism”.

The statue is on display in a theatre in the town of Cairo Montenotte, in the northwestern region of Liguria.