St. Augustine, Florida - Replica of Michelangelo's David

An exact replica of Michelangelo’s "David," an 18-foot tall hand-carved marble statue weighing 20,000 pounds has made its way to Castle Warden, home of Ripley’s Believe It or Not! odditorium, and has been erected in a place of honor in the Castle’s award-winning gardens. Anyone can stop by the west gardens to see David for free.

It is one of only two in the world carved as the original was - from a solid piece of pure Carrara Marble quarried from Pietra Santa in Tuscany, Italy. It’s the same quarry where Michelangelo acquired the marble for his masterpiece.

It took the world famous Sollazzini and Sons Studio of Florence, Italy nearly three years (1960-1962) to carve the stunning statue for the 1963 New York World’s Fair. Following the exhibition, it was acquired by California millionaire Ron Fong and was installed in the gardens at the Movieland Wax Museum in Buena Park, Calif. from 1965 until it moved to St. Augustine. [Tim O'Brien, 12/24/2007]