Michelangelo's David, the renowned marble sculpture is believed to have been temporarily installed next to the entrance to the Palazzo della Signoria, where it was placed on a wooden platform replacing Donatello's bronze sculpture of Judith and Holofernes. While the installation at the piazza occurred on this date, the statue was "unveiled" to the public and fully revealed on September 8, 1504.
The work, was originally commissioned in 1501 by the Opera del Duomo (the Overseers of the Office of Works of the Florence Cathedral) when Michelangelo was only 26 years old, It is considered to be one of the great works of art of the Renaissance. Michelangelo sculpted the statue from a single block of Carrara marble which had remained neglected for 25 years because of the presence of too many imperfections. The colossal statue stands at 17 feet (5.17 meters) tall. In 1873, it was removed from the piazza to protect it from damage, and was moved to the Accademia Gallery. The statue was not placed in its permanent setting in the Accademia until 1882. A replica was placed in the Piazza della Signoria in 1910. More