"Florida Parents Controversy Over 'David' Sculpture Display"

Officials in Italy have defended Michelangelo's "David" sculpture after a Florida charter school principal resigned following complaints that students were exposed to pornography during a Renaissance art lesson featuring the nude masterpiece. The director of Florence's Galleria dell'Accademia invited the school's principal, board, parents, and students to visit the museum where "David" resides to see the "purity" of the famous 16th-century marble sculpture. The outrage in Italy underscores a deep difference between conservatives in the U.S. and Europe, where nude Renaissance masterpieces are not generally considered controversial.