View of Florence, credit: Diego Delso via wikipedia
Hope Carrasquilla, a Florida administrator who was fired for showing students Michelangelo's naked David sculpture, was flown to Florence on a taxpayer-funded trip to view the piece late last month. Parents at the Tallahassee charter school Carrasquilla formerly headed protested that the famous monument was included in her syllabus, which they found "pornographic." The story made headlines across the world. In April, she and her family were invited to see David by Florence Mayor Dario Nardella and Galleria dell'Accademia Director Cecilie Hollberg. Hollberg expressed his delight at having Ms. Carrasquilla visit the Accademia Gallery in Florence, saying, "It is an incredible pleasure to have Ms. I'm thrilled to have the opportunity to tour her around our museum and meet David, a sculpture that has absolutely nothing to do with pornography, in person. It's a masterpiece depicting a religious emblem of good prevailing over evil.
The case of Carrasquilla sparked heated discussions on the definition of "age-appropriate" education in the American South. (It spawned an SNL sketch, after all.) The school's curriculum is based on the "classical education curriculum model," which promotes a rededication to "central values" and "the Western tradition." Republican lawmakers in Florida have tried to make classical education classes mandatory in the secondary school system in response to conservative concerns that public education has recently highlighted issues of race and gender identity.
David, Michelangelo, detail, credit: Jörg Bittner Unna via Wikipedia
Meanwhile, Carrasquilla thoroughly enjoyed her time spent in David's company. The fact that "this whole gallery was built for him" was the thing that "impressed me the most and that I didn't know," she remarked. It reminds me of a church, and I find it really attractive. In this, I think you can see the humanity of this figure and appreciate his sincerity. That's why I've always found it so appealing. The human body, in and of itself, is perfect.
Selena Mattei