Italy bans images of statue of David

ROME • The days of boxer shorts, aprons and tourist trinkets bearing images of Michelangelo’s David could soon be over.

Pictures of the worldfamous statue can no longer be used to adorn souvenirs or for any commercial purposes without official authorization, an Italian court has ruled.

The six-metre-high marble figure is used to sell everything from key rings and fridge magnets to Tshirts and baseball caps, not only in Florence but across Italy.

Lycra underpants and string aprons bearing images of his genitals are particularly popular.

All that is now in peril after a travel company, Visit Today, was taken to court for using an image of David on tickets at inflated prices for the Accademia Gallery in Florence, where the statue is kept.

A court in Florence ruled that the images of David had been used without permission and threatened to fine the firm unless they were removed. Photographs of the statue had been erased from the company’s website on Friday.

It was not clear from the ruling whether souvenir shops in Florence and elsewhere would now have to clear their shelves of David-themed lighters, ashtrays, pens and trinkets.

Given the iconic status of the work, the authorities face a battle in establishing who is to be given permission to use images.

But the decision was welcomed by the Italian cultural heritage world. “This is a concrete move that should now be applied by institutions and businesses,” said Dario Nardella, Florence’s mayor.

“The image of Florence must not be commercially exploited without any limits or regulations.”

Dario Franceschini, the culture minister, added: “We will be vigilant and we’ll be looking out for any violation of the law,” he said.

“This is a victory for the whole of Italy’s cultural heritage sector,” said Cecilie Hollberg, the director of the Gallery.

“We can now protect our national treasures from this sort of exploitation. As far as the Accademia goes, my plan is to flush out, one by one, companies that profit from the image of David and to stop them from continuing this exploitation.”

Hollberg, who is German, is one of several foreigners who have been recruited to reinvigorate Italy’s museums in recent years, along with Eike Schmidt, also German, who runs the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, and James Bradburne, who has joint British and Canadian citizenship and manages the Pinacoteca di Brera art gallery in Milan.

The 5.5-ton figure of the boy warrior who killed Goliath with a slingshot is one of the world’s most famous statues, embodying Renaissance ideals of the male physique.

The statue stood in Florence’s Piazza della Signoria, exposed to the elements, for more than 350 years before it was removed in 1873 and placed in the Galleria dell’Accademia. A copy now stands outside the city’s town hall, the Palazzo Vecchio.

Earlier this year, the Vatican said it was taking similar measures to protect the image of Pope Francis, whose global popularity has resulted in his image being used on tea towels, snow globes, posters and similar items.

MY PLAN IS TO FLUSH OUT, ONE BY ONE, COMPANIES THAT PROFIT FROM THE IMAGE OF DAVID AND TO STOP THEM FROM CONTINUING THIS EXPLOITATION. — CECILIE HOLLBERG WE WILL BE VIGILANT AND WE’LL BE LOOKING OUT FOR ANY VIOLATION OF THE LAW.