Michelangelo’s “David” has been a towering figure in Italian culture since its completion in 1504 and a defining achievement of the Renaissance.
FLORENCE, Italy — Michelangelo’s David has been a towering figure in Italian culture since its completion in 1504. But in the current era of the quick buck, curators worry the marble statue’s religious and political significance is being diminished by the thousands of refrigerator magnets and other souvenirs sold around Florence focusing on David’s genitalia.
People are also reading… At Hollberg’s behest, the state’s attorney office in Florence has launched a series of court cases invoking Italy’s landmark cultural heritage code, which protects artistic treasures from disparaging and unauthorized commercial use. The Accademia has won hundreds of thousands of euros in damages since 2017, Hollberg said.
The decisions challenge a widely held practice that intellectual property rights are protected for a specified period before entering the public domain — the artist's lifetime plus 70 years, according to the Berne Convention signed by more than 180 countries including Italy. Italy’s cultural code is unusual in its scope, essentially extending in perpetuity the author’s copyright to the museum or institution that owns it. The Vatican has similar legislative protections on its masterpieces, and seeks remedies through its court system for any unauthorized reproduction, including for commercial use and for damaging the dignity of the work, a spokesman said.
Court cases have debated whether Italy's law violates a 2019 European Union directive stating that any artwork no longer protected by copyright falls into the public domain, meaning that “everybody should be free to make, use and share copies of that work.”
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Significance of Michelangelo’s 'David' statue is being diminished by souvenirs, Italian curators saySince its creation in 1504, Michelangelo's David has been a symbol of Italian culture. Curators are now voicing concerns about the commercialization of the statue.
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A fight to protect the dignity of Michelangelo's David raises questions about freedom of expressionMichelangelo’s David has been a towering figure in Italian culture since its completion in 1504.
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A fight to protect the dignity of Michelangelo's David raises questions about freedom of expressionMichelangelo’s David has been a towering figure in Italian culture since its completion in 1504.
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A fight to protect the dignity of Michelangelo's David raises questions about freedom of expressionMichelangelo's David has been a towering figure in Italian culture since its completion in 1504, but curators worry the marble statue's religious and political significance is being diminished.
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A fight to protect the dignity of Michelangelo’s David raises questions about freedom of expressionTynin Fries joined The Denver Post in 2018 as an intern. Then, she joined the team as a Digital Strategist and was promoted to Deputy Director of Audience in 2022. She is a proud ASU Cronkite alumna (godevs)! In between producing news and writing stories, Tynin is out exploring all that Colorado has to offer.
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A fight to protect the dignity of Michelangelo's David raises questions about freedom of expressionThe current fight is over whether it's acceptable for memorabilia to focus on David's genitals, a much lampooned feature of the statue.
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