Custody Battle Over David

A newly public document surfacing in Italy purports that Michelangelo’s David belongs to the city of Florence rather than the state. Florence Mayor Matteo Renzi took the battle to the airwaves with a press conference, while Sandro Bondi, Italy’s culture minister, dismissed the publicity and bickering as “absurd and inopportune.” The statue is said to reflect Florentine liberty in the beginning of the 16th century, but a battle continues 500 years later.