Italian museum invites U.S. school after principal resigns for showing ‘pornographic’ David statue

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

The mayor of Florence Dario Nardella also tweeted an invitation for the principal to visit so that he could honor him. Confusing art with pornography is “ridiculous,” Nardella said.

Italy’s incredulous response highlights how the US culture war is often felt in Europe, where despite right-wing sentiment and the government, the Renaissance and its masterpieces, however naked, are largely uncontroversial.

But the Tallahassee Classical School board forced Principal Hope Carrasquilla to resign last week after pictures of David shown in sixth grade art class. The school has a policy that requires parents to be notified in advance of any “controversial” topics being taught.

Carrasquilla believes the board targeted her after three parents complained about the lesson including photos of Davida five-meter-high mute marble statue from 1504. The work, considered a masterpiece of the Italian Renaissance, depicts the Biblical David going to fight Goliath armed only with God.

Carrasquilla said that two parents complained that they were not informed in advance that a nude would be shown, while a third called it pornography.

Carrasquilla said in a telephone interview on Sunday that he was “very honored” by the invitation to Italy and that he might accept it.

“I was totally, like, wow,” Carasquilla said. “I have been to Florence before and have seen it David up close and personal, but I’m happy to be the mayor’s guest.”

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

“To think that David can be pornography means not understanding the content of the Bible, not understanding Western culture and not understanding Renaissance art,” said Hollberg in a telephone interview.

He invited the principal, school board, parents and students to see the “purity” of the statue.

‘Controversial topics and images’

Tallahassee Classical is a charter school. While taxpayer-funded and tuition-free, they operate almost entirely independently of local school districts and are sought after by parents looking for an alternative to the public school curriculum.

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

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

“Parents have a right to know whenever a child is being taught controversial topics and images,” Bishop said in an interview with the online magazine Slate.

Several parents and teachers planned to protest Carrasquilla’s ouster at Monday night’s school board meeting, but Carrasquilla said she wasn’t sure she would take the job back even if it was offered.

“There is such controversy and upheaval,” he said. “I really have to consider, ‘Is this the best thing?'”

Clash of cultures

Marla Stone, head of humanities studies at the American Academy in Rome, said the Florida incident was another episode in the escalation of the US culture war and questioned how the statue could be considered controversial enough to warrant an earlier 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. “It’s about fear, fear of beauty, difference, and the possibilities that exist in art.”

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

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

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