Is the David porn? Come see, Italians tell Florida parents

david statue ap
'There’s been such controversy and such upheaval.'

The Florence museum housing Michelangelo’s Renaissance masterpiece the David on Sunday invited parents and students from a Florida charter school to visit after complaints about a lesson featuring the statue forced the principal to resign.

Florence Mayor Dario Nardella also tweeted an invitation for the principal to visit so he can personally honor her. Confusing art with pornography was “ridiculous,” Nardella said.

The board of the Tallahassee Classical School pressured Principal Hope Carrasquilla to resign last week after an image of the David was show to a sixth-grade art class. The school has a policy requiring parents to be notified in advance about “controversial” topics being taught.

The incredulous Italian response highlighted how the U.S. culture wars are often perceived in Europe, where despite a rise in right-wing sentiment and governance, the Renaissance and its masterpieces, even its naked ones, are generally free of controversy. Sunday’s front page of the Italian daily publication Corriere della Sera featured a cartoon by its leading satirist depicting David with his genitals covered by an image of Uncle Sam and the word “Shame.”

Carrasquilla believes the board targeted her after three parents complained about a lesson including a photo of the David, a 5-meter tall (17 foot) nude marble sculpture dating from 1504. The work, reflecting the height of the Italian Renaissance, depicts the Biblical David going to fight Goliath armed only with his faith in God.

Carrasquilla has said two parents complained because they weren’t notified in advance that a nude would be shown, while a third called the iconic statue pornographic.

Carrasquilla said in a phone interview Sunday that she is “very honored” by the invitations to Italy and she may accept.

“I am totally, like, wow,” Carasquilla said. “I’ve been to Florence before and have seen the David up close and in person, but I would love to go and be a guest of the mayor.”

Cecilie Hollberg, director of the Galleria dell’Accademia, where the David resides, expressed astonishment at the controversy.

“To think that David could be pornographic means truly not understanding the contents of the Bible, not understanding Western culture and not understanding Renaissance art,” Hollberg said in a telephone interview.

She invited the principal, school board, parents and student body to view the “purity” of the statue.

Tallahassee Classical is a charter school. While it is taxpayer-funded and tuition-free, it operates almost entirely independently of the local school district and is sought out by parents seeking an alternative to the public school curriculum.

About 400 students from kindergarten through 12th grade attend the three-year-old institution, which is now on its third principal. It follows a curriculum designed by Hillsdale College, a conservative Christian school in Michigan frequently consulted by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on educational issues.

Barney Bishop, chairman of Tallahassee Classical’s school board, has told reporters that while the photo of the statue played a part in Carrasquilla’s ouster, it wasn’t the only factor. He has declined to elaborate, while defending the decision.

“Parents are entitled to know anytime their child is being taught a controversial topic and picture,” Bishop said in an interview with Slate online magazine.

Several parents and teachers plan to protest Carrasquilla’s exit at Monday night’s school board meeting, but Carrasquilla said she isn’t sure she would take the job back even if it were offered.

“There’s been such controversy and such upheaval,” she said. “I would really have to consider, ‘Is this truly what is best?’”

Marla Stone, head of humanities studies at the American Academy in Rome, said the Florida incident was another episode in escalating U.S. culture wars and questioned how the statue could be considered so controversial as to warrant a prior warning.

“What we have here is a moral crusade against the body, sexuality, and gender expression and an ignorance of history,” Stone said in an email. “The incident is about fear, fear of beauty, of difference, and of the possibilities embedded in art.”

Michelangelo Buonarroti sculpted the David between 1501-1504 after being commissioned by the Cathedral of Florence. The statue is the showpiece of the Accademia, and helps draw 1.7 million visitors each year to the museum.

“It is incredibly sought-after by Americans who want to do selfies and enjoy the beauty of this statue,” Director Hollberg said.

The museum, like many in Europe, is free for student groups. There was no indication that any trip would be subsidized by the city or museum.

___

Republished with permission of The Associated Press.

Associated Press


11 comments

  • Meski

    March 26, 2023 at 10:39 pm

    My daughter was taught the three types of sex as a Miami-Dade public school 5th grader – vaginal, oral, and anal. With no warning or consent. I did complain. I didn’t get a trip. Just saying.

    • Sqoo

      March 27, 2023 at 11:23 am

      There are two options. Have a teacher explain that to you and answer any questions they have (guess what, I had already heard about anal sex as a sixth grader and that was in 1993, well before the internet) or have her do a Google search for “anal sex” when she’s by herself and see what happens. Which one do you prefer?

    • Peggy

      March 27, 2023 at 2:48 pm

      Yeah, sure. This happened.

    • Sandra Bergquist

      March 30, 2023 at 12:10 pm

      Way too much information for a 10 year old.
      I agree with you. Teaching about reproduction is sufficient. This way they are prepared for knowledge of menstruation, menstrual cycle.

      No 10 year old needs to know the mechanics of sex.

      Did you know that dentists now check teens and preteens for oral cancers and diseases brought on by oral sex ?

      • THAT NAKED DAVID STATUE OFFENDS ME!

        March 31, 2023 at 3:46 pm

        “Did you know that dentists now check teens and preteens for oral cancers and diseases brought on by oral sex ?”

        LOL. This is complete bullsh*t. Where do you comedians come up with this stuff? 😂😂😂😂😂

    • Ian

      March 31, 2023 at 7:13 am

      Yeah, that didn’t happen!

  • Mr. Haney

    March 27, 2023 at 6:20 am

    You’re more likely a liar.

  • Rob Desantos

    March 27, 2023 at 4:07 pm

    Republicans are such snowflakes

  • DeSantis Is Gay

    March 30, 2023 at 11:54 am

    This what happens when you are terrified of your own latent homosexual feelings.

    • Sandra Bergquist

      March 30, 2023 at 12:12 pm

      He likes to ban things and control people.

      That is what autocrats do.

  • Ian

    March 31, 2023 at 6:55 am

    Just have him hold a rebel flag and watch the offended become less offended.

Comments are closed.


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