Michelangelo's David: the image of sculpture is protected. To use it you will pay the rights

It is one of the most important sculptures of Italian cultural heritage and among the most admired in the world.

Now, the image ofMichelangelo's David can no longer be used without authorization, especially for advertising, because it is part of the collective imagination of the nation that must be considered a protected and disciplined asset.

The Court of Florence has recognized the existence of the right to the image of cultural heritage: it is the first judgment on the merits that places our legal system at the forefront in the field of cultural heritage protection.

After the historic victory of 2017, when the Court of Florence granted - with a precautionary order - protection to the image of Michelangelo's David by inhibiting its illicit use for commercial purposes, the Galleria dell'Accademia in Florence obtains another decisive result: for the first time it is affirmed, in a ruling on the merits, the existence of the right to the image of cultural heritage as an expression of the constitutional right to collective identity of citizens who recognize themselves in the Same Nation.

The lawsuit concerns a famous publishing house that, in the absence of concession to use the image of Michelangelo's David and without payment of any fee for use, has published on the cover of its magazine the sculptural masterpiece, modified with the mechanism of lenticular paper and then superimposed on the image of a model, a person really existing, all in an openly advertising key.

Rainews24

Rainews24, Minister Sangiuliano guest in the studio

"I appreciate the ruling of the Court of Florence on Michelangelo's David, which recognizes the principle of a right to image for cultural heritage. In general, without going into the details of the device that I do not know, it must be stated that the use for commercial purposes for cultural goods must be paid for while it must be free for images for educational and study purposes. It is comforting that the judges think like the Ministry of Culture", said the Minister of Culture, Gennaro Sangiuliano,