The Statue of David of Michelangelo Buonarroti
Danilo Anton

At the beginning of the sixteenth century and with considerable delay the construction office of the Duomo (Cathedral) of Florence decided to entrust the construction of the statue of David to the young Florentine artist Michelangelo Buonarroti who started work in 1501.
Michelangelo worked hard in his workshop and finished the sculpture almost three years later. His dedication was very great and the result was impeccable.
The statue of more than 5 meters of height that was a naked version of a youthful and athletic man was completed in May of 1504. At that moment it was presented to the Gonfaloniero of Florence, Piero Soderini, who suggested correcting some defect that I appreciated in the nose. Michelangelo apparently agreed to make the correction, went up the stairs to the face of the statue and there took marble dust that he carried in a small bag and threw it while he struck the statue with his chisel ..
It's OK now? Asked the artist.
"Now it is perfect" replied the Gonfaloniero.
And so the work was ready to be moved to the Piazza della Signoria.
It is a paradox that the biblical character David, famous for his unequal combat with a much more corpulent adversary, the Philistine Goliat, was represented in a large statue, much larger than the 3 meters in height that were attributed to the opponent of David.
In Florence the giant was not Goliath but David and so was called the statue by the population of the city.
The transfer operation lasted four days.
The "Giant" toured the alleys of Florence for four days and finally arrived at its destination.
The trajectory was fulfilled with the opposition of some political opponents of the Florentine government, perhaps partisans of the Medicis, or of the former religious leader Girolamo Savonarola scandalized by the nakedness of the effigy. 
During the transfer there some people threw stones at the passage of the great statue.
The sculptural work, scandalous for the time, was located in the central square of the city and for greater challenge it was oriented with its face directed towards Rome.
We can suppose that the David of Michelangelo had a political rather than a religious purpose. The statue was an affirmation of the sovereign republic of the Florentines and of opposition to the oligarchic government of the Medicis and to the Papacy of Rome.
In a way, the David can be considered as the Renaissance version of the Statue of Liberty.
From: "Chronicles of Human Peripecie", Danilo Anton,  Piriguazú Ediciones.