Visitors Flock To See David Sculpture After Florida Uproar

FLORENCE, Italy — Following an uproar over a Florida school’s decision to force the principal’s resignation over complaints about a lesson depicting the Renaissance masterpiece, visitors flocked to see Michelangelo’s David sculpture in Florence on Tuesday.

Tourists posed for photos in front of the massive marble statue, which depicts the Biblical David, naked with a sling over his shoulder and a rock in his hand, ready for battle with Goliath.

The sculpture is housed in Florence’s Galleria dell’Accademia, which reopened Tuesday after its weekly Monday closure, and both tourists and residents couldn’t get over the controversy.

“It’s part of history,” said Isabele Joles, an Ohio high school student learning French and Italian art. “I’m not sure how you can call it porn.”

She and other visitors were reacting to the Tallahassee Classical School board’s decision last week to pressure Principal Hope Carrasquilla to quit after an image of David was shown to a sixth-grade art class.

Carrasquilla believes the board targeted her after three parents complained about not being informed that a nude image would be shown, and a third called the famous statue, considered the pinnacle of Renaissance sculpture, pornographic. The school has a policy that requires parents to be notified about “controversial” subjects that will be taught.

Principal Hope Carrasquilla quit after an image of David was shown to a sixth-grade art class.

Over the weekend, Florence’s mayor and the museum head expressed surprise at the uproar and invited the ousted principal and the school community to see the sculpture for themselves.

“We’re talking about the roots of Western culture, and ‘David’ is the pinnacle, the pinnacle of beauty,” museum director Cecilie Hollberg said in an interview Tuesday, as tourists snapped photos with the statue in front of her.

The controversy was more than just a subject of discussion in Florence. The Tallahassee Democrat reported that a large audience attended a school board meeting in Tallahassee on Monday night, with public comment on the David statue controversy lasting more than an hour. Some parents and instructors chastised the board, even asking chairman Barney Bishop to resign.

“Given all of these parents’ dissatisfaction with your leadership, would you be willing to lead us with integrity by resigning?” inquired instructor Ben Steigner.

Bishop refused, stating that he plans to serve as chairman until the end of his term in May, followed by another year on the board, according to the newspaper. The five trustees, who serve three-year terms, are chosen by themselves rather than the parents. The school’s new principal, Cara Wynn, informed the school board that nine students had left since the David controversy started, but three had enrolled.

Tallahassee Classical is an independent private school. It is taxpayer-funded and tuition-free, but it functions almost completely independently of the local school district and is sought after by parents looking for an alternative to the public school curriculum. The three-year-old institution, now in its third principal, serves 400 pupils in kindergarten through 12th grade. It follows a curriculum designed by Hillsdale College, a conservative Christian school in Michigan that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis regularly consults on educational matters.

On the other hand, the Florida Department of Education has distanced itself from the debate and the school’s choice.

“The Statue of David is both artistic and historical in nature.” “Florida encourages classics and classical art instruction and would not prohibit its use in instruction,” the department said. “The dispute at Tallahassee Classical School is between the school and an employee, and it has nothing to do with state rule or law.”

On Tuesday, visitor Brian Stapley from Seattle, Washington, expressed sympathy for the school’s students.

“It’s one of the most incredible parts of our history,” he said as he entered the museum. “I feel terrible for the kids who won’t see it.” ___

Contributors included Terry Spencer in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and Nicole Winfield in Rome.

SOURCE – (AP)