make it (2)

to crumbling under its own weight. The cracks have

become the statue's (3) Tests carried out by Italy's National Research Council and Florence University confirmed the (4) series of "micro-fractures that have weakened David's ankles. A number of factors have led to this weakening. These include the poor (5) a whole marble and the fact that the statue has been leaning at an angle for centuries, and (6) from traffic and museum visitors.

The sculptor Michelangelo spent three years. creating David between 1501 and 1504. Hel was just 26 when (7) the project.

The statue depicts the biblical hero who killed. the giant Goliath. It was (8) by the rulers of Florence as a symbol of the city's commercial and military strength. It was

unveiled to the (9)

of September, 1504 and (10).

on the 8th

on display outside in the Piazza della Signoria for 350 years. It was moved indoors in 1873 to protect it from the (11) Art lovers have been calling for years for the statue to be relocated to the safety of a purpose-built,

(12)

museum to insulate it from

Michelangelo

(portrait by Daniele da Volterra). the vibrations from traffic and road construction.