L'Italo-Americano

L'Italo-Americano THURSDAY, APRIL 6, 2023 www.italoamericano.org 6 NEWS & FEATURES TOP STORIES PEOPLE EVENTS Continued from page 4 t i o n s o f o u r c u l t u r e could be questioned. It's outrageous because even in America, collections are full of Western art and W e s t e r n n u d e s . B u t i t ' s amazing to see the conse- quences of what happened, a n d t h e m e d i a r e s p o n s e generated by the ignorance of only a few. Not only did it lead to the principal's dis- missal, but it also deprived s t u d e n t s a t a " c l a s s i c a l " school of the opportunity to l e a r n a b o u t t h e R e n a i s - s a n c e , b e c a u s e l e a r n i n g about it without the David is unlikely. I hoped it was fake news and that it would t u r n i n t o a n e a r l y A p r i l Fool's joke, but it didn't. If someone goes to Piazza Sig- noria in Florence, should they blindfold themselves? There is a copy of the David, but also the Biancone, the Rape of the Sabine Women – where everyone is naked – and Judith and Holoferes, which is a scene of violence! Should we just close every square in Italy to the pub- lic?! Nudity is obviously a problem for many cul- t u r e s , n o t j u s t t h e American. There have been similar incidents with the 3D copy of the David at Expo Dubai's Italian Pavilion, where a strategic setup "cov- e r e d u p " t h e c r i t i c a l parts. Shouldn't we also question ourselves? Yes, it was a presentation that hid things. It would have been better to choose another statue. Even when President Rohani visited Rome, the statues were cov- ered. Why do we have to hide our culture and adapt it for someone from another place? We should be proud of our culture, grateful for having it. We should enjoy its masterpieces, and study them! This is not the first time something like this h a p p e n s . A f t e r t h e Council of Trento had c o n d e m n e d n u d i t y i n religious art, Michelan- g e l o ' s L a s t J u d g m e n t w a s c e n s o r e d w i t h m a k e s h i f t u n d e r g a r - m e n t s , p a i n t e d b y a n a r t i s t w h o b e c a m e f a m o u s a s " B r a g h e t - tone." Do you think we are facing a similar situ- ation? Because of the Counter- R e f o r m a t i o n , D a n i e l e d a V o l t e r r a , M i c h e l a n g e l o ' s favorite pupil, was forced by the Pope to "dress up" the S i s t i n e C h a p e l . E v e n t h e David had his"fig leaf," but that was nudity, and they c o v e r e d i t u p b e c a u s e i t didn't seem appropriate back then. This time, we went fur- ther because we are talking about pornography, which is beyond comprehension as there is absolutely nothing pornographic about it. The David is static, he does not m a k e a n y g e s t u r e s , a n d keeps the posture of some- one who feels strong because he knows his faith in God will allow him to defeat the enemy of his people, whom he wants to liberate. He is pure, and he doesn't even h o l d t h e s e v e r e d h e a d o f Goliath, which we find in depictions of David before and after Michelangelo's. He is naked because he was a shepherd, he didn't have any armor, nor fancy clothes to wear. A f t e r t h i s e p i s o d e , unfortunately, the mes- s a g e r e p r e s e n t e d b y M i c h e l a n g e l o ' s D a v i d cannot be considered as universal as we believed. Do we need to educate better, so that its mean- ing is no longer misun- derstood? We shouldn't become mis- sionaries. Those who come to us and study Western cul- ture will always be confront- ed with nudity. We also have the Nursing Madonna, but it's not like we're going to cover her up. We have Adam and Eve! It is our culture, a n d w e s h o u l d n o t b e ashamed of it. We're talking a b o u t o u r r o o t s , a n d w e must be proud and happy of them, just like I am proud and happy about presenting the David, this incredible icon of culture, here at the Galleria dell'Accademia. Of course, educating people is always important. But if you don't want to see and under- stand, just stay home, that's fine for us. This is our cul- ture, and, to the public, we want to show the David with joy. T h e t o u r i s t s e a s o n , with spring and Easter, has just started: every year, the Galleria del- l'Accademia, which you h a v e b e e n d i r e c t i n g since 2015, is visited by millions of people, and Americans have finally returned to Florence in high numbers, just like t h e y u s e d t o b e f o r e COVID-19. Actually, I must say we have much higher numbers than before COVID. In Jan- uary, we even had 25% more visitors than in 2019. On average, 25% of our visitors a r e A m e r i c a n s , a n d f r o m M a y o n , t h a t n u m b e r increases to 50%. Basically, we haven't had a low season this year. What would you like to tell Americans, while i n v i t i n g t h e m t o v i s i t y o u r m u s e u m – t h e place where the David was moved from its orig- i n a l l o c a t i o n , P i a z z a della Signoria, in 1873, and where it waited in a wooden crate for nine years while a specially designed location was created for it? To everyone, I say that the Galleria dell'Accademia i s m u c h m o r e t h a n t h e D a v i d . H e i s o u r " f r o n t man," the one who attracts p e o p l e , w h o a r e t h e n rewarded by the presence of m a n y o t h e r b e a u t i e s . W e have carried out significant work on this museum, which has been completely mod- ernized in a very respectful way, without taking away its soul. Visiting us can be the opportunity to experience a completely changed Galle- ria, where every work of art – b e c a u s e w e d o n ' t o n l y have the David! – has final- ly its own space and can be fully appreciated. It's a com- p l e t e l y c h a n g e d p l a c e , o f unique beauty. I would like to thank all the staff, who c a r r i e d o u t c o n s t r u c t i o n work even during COVID. B e c a u s e n o w v i s i t o r s n o longer crowd only in front of the David, they enjoy the whole place, and this makes us incredibly happy. T h i s r e n o v a t i o n , which was complement- ed by the reorganization of the collection and has been enhanced by new lighting and a new wall color called "Blu Accad- e m i a , " i s n o t t h e o n l y prestigious result. I fought for a long time for the David, and to ensure this excellence was respect- ed. Then I managed, along with the Tribunale di Firen- ze, to protect it with a copy- right. It is an absolute victo- ry, because finally the David will no longer be associated with everything and any- thing, as it has been done for far too long – and someone still does for marketing pur- poses. Because this is the important thing: keeping art pure, stopping the use of M i c h e l a n g e l o ' s D a v i d t o advertise things. It's a sign of respect for culture, for art, and for the beauty of this sculpture, which has b o t h a r e l i g i o u s m e a n i n g and a political message. We shouldn't forget that it was commissioned by the Opera del Duomo, by ecclesiastics w h o w a n t e d t h e s t a t u e placed on the cathedral's round yoke. But it was too beautiful, so they chose to place it in front of Palazzo Vecchio, the political center of Florence, to send a mes- sage against the abuses of the Medicis. David was the young shepherd who rose a n d h a d t h e c o u r a g e t o s t a n d u p a g a i n s t t h e s t r o n g e r a n d m i g h t i e r Goliath. Therefore, it was a symbol of Florentine's polit- ical independence and, of course, of the powerful bibli- cal message that Michelan- g e l o h i m s e l f s a i d h e w a s inspired by. "Only a twisted type of fantasy can see something indecent in a biblical figure, in a statue that is also an icon of the Renaissance. It's not only absurd, it's a worrying sign of sheer ignorance," Hollberg says Cecilie Hollberg, above, has been director of the Galleria dell'Accademia since 2015 (Photo courtesy of Galleria dell'Accademia)

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