The statue of Michelangelo's David is at risk of collapsing due to cracks

Florence (Italy) - The statue of David, which represents the ideal of male beauty of the Italian Renaissance, is at risk of collapsing under its own weight. This is not the statue standing in front of the medieval fortified palace in the center of Florence, Palazzo Vecchio (Old Palace), which is a faithful copy, but the original created by Michelangelo Buonarroti. The original statue is housed in the local Galleria dell'Accademia.
According to experts, David's Achilles' heel is its ankles, where cracks have been detected, as noted by the Italian press. The work, unveiled in 1504 and stored in the Florentine academy since 1873, suffers from its age and "overweight."
Michelangelo carved David from allegedly not the highest quality white marble, which is soft in itself and begins to crumble after a certain period. Weighing 5.5 tons and with a narrowing lower part, the statue presents an excessive load for this stone. Cracks have also appeared on the stump that David leans on with his right foot. It is there to give the statue the necessary stability.
The cracks themselves are nothing new - they have appeared on the statue before and have always been filled with plaster. According to experts, the work has been harmed by being exposed to wind and rain in the square in Florence for three centuries. Moreover, the statue was then tilted forward, which also harmed it in the long term.
During past turbulent unrest, the statue also suffered from a broken hand, which shattered in several places. Repairs and further restoration efforts have, in fact, harmed the work. Now experts are considering whether to place the original David in a safer basement, where it would be protected from vibrations and possible earthquakes that could be fatal to it.