THE NEW YORK TIMES
By Elisabetta Poveledo
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| Antonio Pio Saracino's “Hero.”Credit Maurizio Degl'Innocenti/European Pressphoto Agency |
ITALY---Until mid-September, visitors to the Accademia Gallery in Florence will be able to see two Carrara marble statues of David for the price of one. The new Florentine version is as large as Michelangelo’s David – 17 feet – and weighs nearly as much, at 11,000 pounds. “This one is much taller than the one in Three Bryant Park,” Mr. Saracino said. “It’s much more powerful, more striking.” “Hero” and Michelangelo’s statue were both carved in white marble extracted from a quarry now known as the Michelangelo quarry in Carrara, in Northern Tuscany, a choice “that ennobled” Mr. Saracino’s piece, said Angelo Tartuferi, the Accademia Gallery’s director. [
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| Michelangelo's "David" has been on display at Florence's Accademia Gallery since 1873.Credit Gabriel Bouys/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images |
