Pornographic? Italy Invites Florida Parents to See Purity of Statue of David

The Mayor of Florence and the museum which houses Michelangelo’s Statue of David have invited parents and students from a Florida charter school, which saw its principle fired last week allegedly in response to showing students supposedly pornographic material from the Renaissance.

Last week, Tallahassee Classical School Principal Hope Carrasquilla was removed from her position after complaints were raised about a sixth-grade class on the Renaissance, which included the study of the Statue of David, as well as showing images of Michelangelo’s The Creation of Adam and Botticelli’s Birth of Venus paintings, all of which feature nude figures.

The lesson drew anger from parents, who claimed that they were not informed about the subject material, with one parent even comparing the famed artworks to pornography, according to Carrasquilla.

In response to the firing of the principle, the Mayor of Florence, the Italian city which is widely considered as the birthplace of the Rennaissance, Dario Nardella wrote on social media to extend a personal invitation to the fired principle to “give her recognition on behalf of the city. Art is civilisation and whoever teaches it deserves respect.”

“Mistaking art for pornography is just ridiculous,” the mayor added.

On Monday, the director of the Galleria dell’Accademia museum which houses the Statue of David, Cecilie Hollberg, told the Associated Press that she would also extend an invitation to the parents, students, the fired principle and the school board to view the “purity” of the 16th century statue.

“To think that David could be pornographic means truly not understanding the contents of the Bible, not understanding Western culture and not understanding Renaissance art,” Hollberg said.

Media reports have frequently tied the controversy to the Republican-led effort to pass a “Parents Bill of Rights” in Florida to prevent far-left educators teaching topics such as sexual orientation and gender identity to children in kindergarten through third grade.

However, the Tallahassee Classical is a charter school, meaning that although it receives taxpayer dollars, it does not follow the same state curriculum as public schools in Florida and the class in question, which was comprised of sixth graders, would not have been impacted by the legislation, regardless.

The local School Board Chairman Barney Bishop III has claimed that the firing of Carrasquilla was not solely the result of the decision to show children the Renaissance artworks, but has so far declined to give further details for legal reasons. Carrasquilla was also criticised for failing to ensure that all parents were notified about the teaching of artworks featuring nudity ahead of time.

“It’s not the showing of the picture, it’s the process,” Bishop told NPR. “Parents are entitled to decide whether any topic, any subject, any use of particular sensitive words are going to be discussed in the classroom. If they don’t feel that it’s appropriate for the age of their child, they’re entitled to make that decision.”

Bishop went on to say that lessons featuring the Statue of David will remain in the school’s curriculum, saying: We’re going to teach it regardless of whether parents are in favour of it or not… But if they’re not in favour of it, we’re going to give them alternative curriculum.”

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