Italians push back against U.S. parents who called Michaelangelo's statue of David 'pornographic'

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The Florence museum housing Michelangelo’s Renaissance masterpiece the statue of David invited parents and students from a Florida charter school to come and see the iconic sculpture in person following complaints that the sculpture was "pornographic." 

The principal of the Tallahassee Classical School (TCS), Hope Carrasquilla, was forced to step down last week after parents complained about a 6th grade Renaissance art lesson that showed students a picture of Michelangelo's sculpture of David. Barney Bishop, the school board's chair, reportedly gave Carrasquilla an ultimatum, telling her could either quit or be fired during an emergency school board meeting last Monday. 

The school's Board of Trustees issued a statement Monday that Carrasquilla "offered her resignation," which was "unanimously accepted by the Board," but declined to offer any more information because of pending "threats of litigation." 

Despite its popularity, the sculpture has long been controversial due to David's nudity. ((Photo by Franco Origlia/Getty Images))

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Three parents reportedly complained that the lesson’s content, which included the nude statue of David, upset their children. Two of the three parents said they wished they had been notified of the lesson beforehand, while a third parent called the lesson "pornographic," according to Carrasquilla. 

Michelangelo's "David" is a prominant symbol of the Renaissance period and one of Michaelangelo's most notable works. The sculpture is currently displayed at the Galleria dell'Accademia di Firenze museum in Florence. A cast of the statue is also on display in London's V&A museum. Despite its popularity, the sculpture has long been controversial due to David's nudity.

Cecilie Hollberg, the director of the Accademia Gallery in Florence, told Fox News Digital she invited the school's parents and students, along with Carrasquilla, to visit Florence to see the "pureness" and "innocence" of David in person, because the sculpture is "the icon of Renaissance" that features nothing of "pornographic" nature. 

"It's important to know all these things and it seems as if they do not know enough about them," she said. "It's really not at all pornographic. You have always to distinguish between nudity and pornography, but this is a nude."

She said it is "really surprising" and "strange that people could think otherwise," describing it as a "really deformed fantasy." She said the history of the Renaissance is prevalent throughout Italy, where every piazza is "full of naked statues" that are inherent to the country's culture. 

"I hope that all this is a mistake and that they rethink everything they said and they did," she added. "This would be the best solution for all."

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 Restoration work on Michelangelo's masterpiece David is completed May 24, 2004 at the Galleria dell'Accademia in Florence, Italy. The work has taken a painstaking two years to complete with the statue going on show to the public May 25.  ((Photo by Franco Origlia/Getty Images))

The school has a policy that requires parents be notified two weeks in advance about "potentially sensitive" topics that will be taught in class, so they can decide if they would like their child to be provided with alternative curriculum material. 

TCS said it does not ban books or art as that would be contradictory to its mission as a classical school, "and anyone who asserts that we are doing that is twisting the circumstances to fulfill their own narrative." 

"Renaissance art is a relevant and crucial part of our 6th-grade curriculum and art, music, and philosophy are taught throughout our curriculum," the school statement said. "We have shown pictures of Michelangelo’s sculpture of David ever since we opened the school, and we will continue to show it in the future."

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Florence Mayor Dario Nardella also tweeted an invitation for Carrasquilla to visit Florence to personally honor her, calling it "ridiculous" to confuse art with pornography. 

"A Florida teacher was forced to quit for showing students photos of Michelangelo's David," he tweeted. "Mistaking art for pornography is simply ridiculous." 

"I will personally invite the teacher to Florence to give her an award on behalf of the city," he added. "Art is civilization and those who teach it deserve respect."

 Restorer Cinzia Parnigoni cleans Michelangelo's masterpiece "David" during restoration work at the Galleria dell'Accademia October 6, 2003 in Florence, Italy.  ( (Photo by Franco Origlia/Getty Images))

Tallahassee Classical is a charter school that follows Hillsdale College curriculum, which requires instruction about Renaissance art in sixth grade.

"We believe that parental rights are supreme and that all parents of children at TCS have the right to know in advance, in writing, what their children will be taught and if it is a potentially sensitive topic we will provide advance notice to parents, as we have in the past," the Board of Trustees statement said. "Unfortunately, that was not the case recently."

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"Parents send their children to our classical school because they like our Hillsdale curriculum and they believe that civic and moral values, personal responsibility, and a traditional western civilization education are essential for their child’s growth," the statement said. "Parents do not dictate what is taught at Tallahassee Classical, but they have every right to know exactly what their children are being taught and the Board is going to ensure that their rights are consistently and without fail adhered to."