'David' might be moved

ROME - Michelangelo's heroic

David

could be on the move after 135 years in the museum designed to showcase the marble masterpiece.

The impact of mass tourism on Florence's city center is forcing officials to consider remedies, including one drastic proposal to move the 14-foot statue from the Galleria dell'Accademia to a planned new theater at the the edge of the city.

The museum housing

David

is one of the city's main draws, with long lines of tourists spilling onto the streets outside. To help relieve the congestion, Tuscany's top cultural official, Paolo Cocchi, has proposed moving David to a theater to be built near the city's Leopolda Station.

Mayor Leonardo Domenici agrees that congestion is a problem. About 1.3 million people are estimated to visit the Accademia every year.

"I believe that the response to the problems of mass tourism requires study and analysis," the mayor said. "I don't believe that the question of

David

will be among our immediate priorities."

Domenici said that the theater where

David

would be moved is not slated for completion until 2010-2011.

Moving the enormous statue would be a logistical challenge. When the statue was completed in 1504, it took four days to move it from Michelangelo's studio to its original home on the Piazza della Signoria, where a replica now stands.

The statue has been under a cupola at the Accademia since 1873, when it was moved inside to protect it from the elements.