He may have become more beautiful with age, but Michelangelo's David needs some serious work done if he's not to collapse.
Engineering experts say that restoration work of up to 1 million euros ($1.45 million) must be done to save the Renaissance statue. David's nemesis isn't Goliath this time, but rather the masses of tourists who have walked past the warrior too many times, causing damage.
Only four years ago, David received an extreme makeover for his 500th birthday. Unfortunately the cracks that were filled have already opened. Should Italy keep putting money into David, or instead close him off to close-up, and hazardous, viewing?
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"Should Italy keep putting money into David, or instead close him off to close-up, and hazardous, viewing?"
My reading of the linked article made it sound as if the work that will be done on it will be to insulate it from the vibrations of viewers' footfalls, so the money that will go into David will allow it to continue being viewed. Did I read the article, or your question, wrong?
1Oh, never mind. I get it now.
I think the work that will be done on him should solve both problems pretty well.
2Yes, I say a combo of restoration and better preservation.
3I agree...spend the money to insulate the statue.
Now if we could only teach the tourists not to stomp...
4Considering the amount of tourist dollars that the statue generates each day, it would be foolish of them to put him away. After all, it is a national treasure, it would be so odd to not allow people to see it.
5slow news day?
6I was just there a couple weeks ago and I just sat there for literally an hour observing the statue.
7it's been around for so long. i think they will do whatever they can to keep it around. i would love to see it one day.
8Ya, it must be a slow news day. But you gotta fix it up and then find a way to keep it that way.
9they have to fix this. i was there in 2005 and the david took my breath away and nearly brought tears to my eyes. i never knew it could be so magnificant!
10Whoa. I didn't know it was that big! The statue that is...
11i think that something definitely needs to be done - since we all know how recognizable the piece is to just about everyone. i wonder if there's a way to put it in an area that it can't get affected by tourists walking by. it would be a shame for this sculpture to topple over and get ruined...it's an icon.
12I saw this last summer. So amazing in person.
Does the country of Italy pay for it? I would think the museum would.
13Maybe if they put pants on him, the stomping crowds would thin a bit.
14Of corse they should fix it that's one of the biggest tourist attractions in Florence. And you need to see it up close to see how amazing the detail is, vains and all!
15I saw the David in May (that big boy is pretty awesome!). Every time a tourist would take a photo, one of the museum docents would stomp as hard as she could on the floor and scream "No Photo!"
16I'm sorry, but close him off. Take great pictures-intheround, but close him off.
17The David is an amazing work of art and should be enjoyed by the people! Give him a fixer upper and let people continue to enjoy him! Closing him off will not give you the same feeling when you see it. In Rome, they enclosed the Pieta in St. Peter's and it's not the same, seeing it through glass.
Vespa, all the museum's in Italy are owned by the government (with the expection of the Vatican musuems or any displays in churches - those are owned by the Catholic church).
18Ooooh. Good to know. Thanks!
19fix him but also change the way he's displayed
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