The statue of David in Galleria dell’Accademia, Florence. Photograph: Alamy
Florence court puts foot down over Michelangelo's David
Civil court orders tour firm to remove images of famous nude from marketing used to sell expensive tickets to museum
His are the most famous curves in Florence and adorn everything from aprons to fridge magnets, but images of Michelangelo’s David can now only be used with official authorisation, a court in Italy has ruled.
The 16th-century marble statue is the star attraction at the Galleria dell’Accademia, which took legal action against a tour company that used an image of the Biblical nude in marketing for €45 (£40) tours of the art museum, which normally costs €8 to enter.
A civil court in Florence ordered Visit Today to remove the images because of copyright infringement, and asserted that it is the right of the institution that holds the work to authorise reproduction images only on request and with payment of an agreed fee.
The ruling said: “It does not appear that Visit Today has ever asked for or received such permission, while it is documented that they used the image and the name of David to advertise their business.”
The gallery director, Cecilie Hollberg, who took the civil action, described it as a “historic victory, which provides a precedent”.
“Now many other museums who have been victims of the plague of tickets sold at inflated prices can take this path to defeat this scam,” she said.
Hollberg was awaiting clarification from the state attorney about whether the ruling could apply to all the objects and souvenirs that portray David and were sold across the city, La Repubblica reported.
Visit Today was ordered to remove all pictures of the statue from its digital and print promotional material and will be fined €2,000 every day it fails to comply.
Other cultural institutions look likely to follow suit.
Luca Bagnoli, the president of the body responsible for Florence’s cathedral, which houses Giotto’s bell tower, said he would like to meet Hollberg.
“The problem of touting and selling tickets at a higher price by those who exploit our image also afflicts the Florentine cathedral,” he told reporters. “We would like to adopt strategies as soon as possible to enable us to effectively combat this phenomenon.”
The director of the Uffizi gallery, which brims with renaissance masterpieces, said it was preparing similar claims.
“It will be of great help in the preparation of the various legal actions that we intend to take against the many touting companies that infest us,” Eike Schmidt said.
A spokesman for Visit Today told the Guardian it was disappointed by the ruling and insisted it was not a touting firm, but rather provided guided tours with headsets and priority entrance.
“There are a lot of tourist companies that use the image, there are posters and ornaments, but unfortunately they said that we had to stop using the image,” he said. “We agreed and deleted it from our website and brochures. We thought that promoting David was good for promoting Italy. We are not the only company using David. People are selling things around the world using it.”
The mayor of Florence, Dario Nardella, said: “Now the task for everyone – institutions, citizens and businesses – is to apply this ruling. Florence’s image should not be commercially exploited without limits and without rules.”
