Italians Battle Over David

State lawyers prepare to take Florence to court
By Sarah Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 16, 2010 8:05 AM CDT
Updated Aug 21, 2010 3:49 PM CDT
Italians Battle Over David
The 17-foot statue, which stands in Florence's Accademia gallery, depicts the Old Testament hero David.   (Flickr)

Italy and the city of Florence are tussling over who owns Michelangelo's David, the Telegraph reports. Each year, 1.5 million visitors pay more than $12 million to see the 17-foot marble statue, which stands in Florence's Accademia gallery. Lawyers for the Italian Ministry of Culture say that because the Florentine republic for whom Michelangelo created David in 1501 no longer exists, the masterpiece belongs to Italy. But Florence's mayor says he has documents that prove city's claim, and is "prepared to fight to show David is ours."
(More Italy stories.)

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