A giant sandwich appeared outside the Rome mayor's office in Piazza del Campidoglio on 6 January, designed to reignite the debate around the so-called "anti-panino" law that banned eating on the streets of the city's historic centre.

Police quickly ordered the removal of the enormous rosetta stuffed with mortadella but not before the artwork by Iginio De Luca received applause and was photographed by scores of bemused passersby. It is the latest provocative act by the performance artist who made a name by projecting the film "Ladro lui, ladra lei" (Thief him, thief her) on the façade of the Regione Lazio building in the aftermath of the "Batman affair" involving the misappropriation of funds by regional councillor Franco Fiorito, as well as flying a small plane over the city's ringroad in 2011 with the banner reading "Farsa Italy" (Farce Italy).

The contentious anti-panino legislation was introduced last October, leading to numerous protests including a sandwich-eating flash mob at the Campidoglio which Alemanno dismissed as "hippy". The mayor later clarified that the law was aimed more at people camping out, rather than eating, in areas "of particular historical, artistic, architectural and cultural heritage" within Rome's centro storico.