In 1527 his arm was smashed by rioters. In 1991 a man attacked his toe with a hammer. Now, however, Michelangelo's David has suffered arguably his greatest indignity to date. 
 
 To the horror of many in the Italian cultural establishment, the world-famous marble statue has been pictured in an advertisement cradling not a slingshot but an American-made rifle. 
 
 An image of David brandishing an AR-50A1 sold by ArmaLite, a 60-year-old Illinois-based small arms engineering company, has provoked such ire in Italy that the culture minister took to Twitter to demand the advert be "immediately" ditched. 
 
 "The advertisement image of the [statue of] David armed offends and infringes the law," read a post by Dario Franceschini. "We will take action against the American company which must immediately withdraw the campaign." 
 
 Entitled A Work of Art, the advert shows David preparing to take on Goliath with the large rifle instead of his humble sling and stones. 
 
 Florence, home not only of the 16th-century statue but also of the new prime minister, Matteo Renzi, has expressed particular indignation. The superintendent for the city's historical heritage and fine arts board, Cristina Acidini, has reportedly issued the company with a legal notice asking for the image to be withdrawn. 
 
 A philosopher and the city's councillor for culture, Sergio Givone, claimed in newspaper La Repubblica the depiction was "a real abuse". "It is an act of violence towards the sculpture; like taking a hammer to it and perhaps, actually, even worse," he said. 
 
 But art critic Philippe Daverio poured cold water on the row, comparing the US advert to tongue-in-cheek images of the Mona Lisa with a moustache. "Certain cultural icons belong to everyone and no one; to humanity in general," he was quoted as saying. ||||| An American assault rifle manufacturer has drawn the ire of Italy's culture minister after an advertisement depicting Michelangelo's David holding a massive AR-50A1 was published in an Italian newspaper. 
 
 The ad is actually a year old -- the company tweeted it on May 15, 2013 -- and part of the company's "work of art" campaign: 
 
 Another ad shows an ArmaLite AR-301A on the wall of a museum in between American Gothic and the Mona Lisa. The barrel of the gun is pointed at Mona Lisa's head. Italy's probably not going to like that one, either. 
 
 The country, which claims the copyright to the statue, is trying to force ArmaLite to remove its ad. The director of the Accademia Gallery, where David (sans weapon) is on display, said the ad was both in "bad taste" and "completely illegal." 
 
 "The image of David, armed, offends and infringes the law. We will take action against the American company so that it immediately withdraws its (advertising) campaign," Culture Minister Dario Franceschini tweeted (translation per the AFP). 
 
 And the Historical Heritage and Fine Arts Board curator Cristina Acidini has issued a "legal notice" to the company demanding that it withdraw the ad. 
 
 It's always nice to see America making such positive impressions overseas. 
 
 ArmaLite is currently having a "McArmaLite March Sale" on its weapons, featuring the image of a leprechaun wielding one of its assault rifles.
– Italians are a wee bit upset about an ArmaLite ad that shows a massive $3,000 rifle cradled in the arms of Michelangelo's David, the BBC reports. "The image of David, armed, offends and infringes the law," tweeted culture minister Dario Franceschini. He vowed to take action against the Illinois-based small arms company for its AR-50A1 rifle ad, which reads "a work of art" along the top. A gallery director in Florence noted that the law forbids distorting a work of art's aesthetic value: "In this case, not only is the choice in bad taste but also completely illegal." "It is an act of violence towards the sculpture; like taking a hammer to it and perhaps, actually, even worse," said a city councilor in Florence, reports the Guardian. But Italian art critic Philippe Daverio pooh-poohed the uproar, comparing ArmaLite's ad to cheeky images of a mustached Mona Lisa: "Certain cultural icons belong to everyone and no one; to humanity in general," he said. If true, that's good news for ArmaLite, which has another ad showing its AR-301A on a museum wall between American Gothic and the Mona Lisa—pointed at Mona Lisa's head, The Wire reports.