Having relocated to Italy, the natural inclination is to go on a day trip to explore the surrounding area. For my first mini excursion, I decided to “hire” a car and go to Florence where I could finally see the statue of David, by Michelangelo. I know, it sounds like such a tourist thing to do. But, it was something that I always wanted to see. I just I never had the opportunity. Ever since my studies at Parsons Paris, during my year abroad, I wanted to see David first hand. You see, I know a lot about David. While at Parsons Paris, I had the opportunity to study art at the Louvre, for my elective. Every Wednesday night, we gathered at the Louvre to view their permanent collection. What interested me the most were the discussion differentiating the good sculpture from the bad sculpture - usually being bad Roman copies of Greek masters. Strangely, when we started to talk about good sculptures, the mention of Michelangelo’s David was never far behind, even though it was located hundreds of miles away in a smallish gallery tucked away in Florence. Now fast forward more than a decade later, in front of David, my art instruction came flowing back. It was indeed something to experience. It was almost as if Michelangelo breathed life into that slab of marble. It was an imposing sight. Much better in real life than in pictures, since you don’t get the enormity of David’s stature from inside a book or on a screen. His eyes were indeed alive, as told in text. But in real life, the intent of his stare pierces you, showing you his determination to follow through with his actions. His hands were bigger, and so was his head. That looked a little awkward at first. But then you remember why Michelangelo did that. David was supposed to be positioned on the roofline of a cathedral, so by enlarging certain details, the statue would look optically correct. That’s the official reason to the church back in the fifteen hundred’s. However, I’ve always liked the explanation that Michelangelo made the hands and head bigger as a not-so-subtle message proclaiming man’s intelligence and ability, which at the time was a humanistic commentary during the age of the Renaissance. Seeing it in person, it was inspiring. It made me want to see more of what Italy had to offer. It was after all the reason why we decided to relocate to Italy: to seek inspiration from our newly adopted home.