Florence celebrates David at 500

Today, 500 years to the day that the icon of Renaissance male beauty was unveiled for the people of Florence, Italy, his modern-day co-citizens are kicking off a year of events to celebrate Michelangelo’s David in style.

There will be concerts, fireworks, symposiums and exhibitions. There is, of course, an official David 500 T-shirt.

But most of all, arts officials want the half-millennium of one of the world’s most famous nude statues to get people looking forward and not only backward.

“We want David’s 500th birthday to spark debate, to be controversial, to challenge people about what art is today, not just what it was 500 years ago,” said Antonio Paolucci, superintendent of city museums.