Full-scale David replica to be installed in Swiss Alps from July 2026

A full-scale marble replica of Michelangelo's David will be installed in Klosters, Switzerland, starting July 2, 2026, as part of the Scultura Viva initiative. The sculpture, carved in 2017 from Michelangelo marble from Carrara's Polvaccio quarries by Studi d'Arte Cave Michelangelo under Franco Barattini, weighs over nine tonnes with an eight-tonne base. It is one of fewer than ten full-scale David replicas worldwide. The project aims to explore how meaning transforms through context, landscape, and perspective, posing the question: "What are the Goliaths of our time and how do we face them?" Christian Bolt, Swiss sculptor and founder of Scultura Viva, who holds a chair at the Accademia delle Arti del Disegno in Florence, stated: "This project is not a simple reproduction of David, but an investigation into its meaning in contemporary conditions." The inauguration will launch a cultural program fostering Swiss-Italian collaboration, including the live carving of another Michelangelo work, the Dying Slave, at Atelier Bolt.