Michelangelo’s ‘David’

In Florence, Italy, cracks in the feet of Michelangelo’s statue of David threaten its survival. The 17-foot-tall figure on a 6-foot base, which had stood in Florence’s Piazzo della Signoria since 1504, was moved into a domed room at the Galleria dell’Accademia in 1873. (A replica still stands in the piazzo.)

The cracks, first noticed during a restoration of the statue in 2004, have been blamed on a number of factors, including the quality of the marble, the positioning of the legs and its original placement at a slight angle, which caused more stress to be put on the ankles. 

Conservators are concerned that vibrations from nearby work on the city’s new underground rail system, plus resulting vibrations once the trains are operating, could worsen the cracks and topple the statue. Plans to move “David” to an earthquake-proof room may lessen the risk.