Breaking News English

Michelangelo's masterpiece statue "David" is great danger collapsing due its weak ankles and the structure's 5.5-ton weight. Scientists have confirmed that cracks the heels of the giant 5.17-metre-tall iconic statue make it susceptible to crumbling its own weight. The cracks have become the statue's Achilles heel. Tests carried by Italy's National Research Council and Florence University confirmed the existence a whole series of "micro-fractures" that have weakened David's ankles. A number factors have led to this weakening. These include the poor quality of marble and the fact that the statue has been leaning an angle for centuries, and vibrations traffic and museum visitors.

The sculptor Michelangelo spent three years creating David between 1501 and 1504. He was just 26 when he embarked the project. The statue depicts the biblical hero who killed the giant Goliath. It was commissioned the rulers Florence as a symbol the city's commercial and military strength. It was unveiled the public on the 8th of September, 1504 and remained display outside in the Piazza della Signoria for 350 years. It was moved indoors in 1873 to protect it the elements. Art lovers have been calling years for the statue to be relocated to the safety a purpose-built, earthquake proof museum to insulate it from the vibrations traffic and road construction.