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ROME (AP) — The museum in Florence, home to Michelangelo’s Renaissance masterpiece David, invited parents and students at its charter school in Florida to visit. This is because complaints about classes using the statue forced the principal to resign.
The mayor of Florence, Dario Nardella, also tweeted an invitation to visit so the headmaster could honor her personally.
The incredible Italian response highlights how the US culture war is often perceived in Europe. In Europe, despite the rise of right-wing sentiment and governance, the Renaissance and its masterpieces, even the naked ones, are generally uncontroversial.
However, the board of directors of the Tallahassee Classical School Last week, he pressured principal Hope Karaskira to step down after being shown an image of “David” in a sixth-grade art class. Schools have policies requiring advance notice to parents that “controversial” topics are being taught.
Carrasquilla said after three parents complained about a lesson that included a photograph of “David,” a 5-meter (17-foot) tall naked marble sculpture made in 1504, the board decided to remove her. I think you are targeted. The biblical David intends to fight Goliath armed only with faith in God.
Carrasquilla says two parents complained because they weren’t notified in advance that nudity would be shown.
Carrasquilla said in a telephone interview on Sunday that he was “extremely honored” by the invitation to Italy and might accept it.
“I’m totally, wow, amazing,” said Carasquilla. “I have been to Florence before and have seen ‘David’ up close and personal, and I would love to go and be the mayor’s guest. ”
Cecily Holberg, director of Galleria del Academia, where “David” lives, expressed surprise at the controversy.
In a phone interview, Holberg said, “To think David could be porn is to have no understanding of what the Bible is about, Western culture, or Renaissance art.
She invited the principal, school board, parents, and student council to see the statue’s “purity”.
Tallahassee Classical is a charter school. Although taxpayer-funded and tuition-free, it operates almost entirely independently of the local school district and is sought after by parents seeking an alternative to the public school curriculum.
About 400 students from kindergarten to 12th grade attend the school from the age of three and are currently the third principal. It follows a curriculum designed by Hillsdale College.a conservative Christian school in Michigan, where he was frequently consulted by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on educational issues.
Barney Bishop, chairman of the Tallahassee Classical Board of Education, told reporters that photos of the statue played a role in Carrasquilla’s expulsion, but that wasn’t the only factor. While defending, he declined to provide details.
“Parents have the right to know whenever their child is being taught controversial topics or drawings,” Bishop said in an interview with Slate Online magazine.
Several parents and teachers are scheduled to protest Carrasquilla’s expulsion at the school board Monday night, but Carrasquilla said she wasn’t sure she would get it back, even if she was offered one. Stated.
“There was such controversy and upheaval,” she said. “You have to think, ‘Is this really the best?'”
Mara Stone, director of humanities studies at the American Academy in Rome, said the Florida incident was another episode of escalating the culture wars in the United States, and the statue was controversial enough to warrant advance warning. I questioned the fact that it was considered to be brewing.
“What we are here for is a moral crusade against bodies, sexuality, gender expression, and ignorance of history,” Stone said in an email. It’s about the fear of difference, and the possibilities embedded in art.”
Michelangelo Buonarroti was commissioned by Florence Cathedral to create the “David” between 1501 and 1504. The statue is an exhibit of the Academy and draws 1.7 million visitors to the museum each year.
“It’s incredibly popular with Americans who want to take selfies and enjoy the beauty of this statue,” said director Holberg.
The museum, like many in Europe, is free for student groups. There was no indication that the trip would be subsidized by the city or museum. ___
Spencer reported from Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
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