Florida principal fired for showing Michelangelo's David to students; Florence mayor invites her to Italy

Hope Carasquilla, principal of the Classical School of Tallahassee in Florida, was forced to resign after showing Michelangelo's David to students during art history lessons. Three parents deemed the statue's nudity pornographic and inappropriate. The school's board president upheld the complaint, despite art history being mandatory in the curriculum. Carasquilla also showed the Creation of Adam from the Sistine Chapel. Under school policy, she should have given two weeks' notice for controversial content. Florence Mayor Dario Nardella invited Carasquilla to Florence to see the David in person and receive a city prize, calling the confusion of art with pornography "ridiculous." Cecilie Hollberg, director of the Galleria dell'Accademia where the David is housed, echoed that nudity is not pornography and invited the school community to visit. Carasquilla expressed gratitude and said she would like to return. The incident follows Nardella's recent involvement with climate activists from Ultima Generazione who protested at Palazzo Vecchio; their homes were later searched by court order.