Expo 2020 Dubai: first pictures of Italian pavilion's dazzling Michelangelo statue

3D replica of the famed marble statue is being created at a laboratory in Florence

Engineers in Florence used high-tech cameras and mounted laser scanners on stairs to capture microscopic details of the 16th-century marble statue. EPA

The 3D-printed copy of Michelangelo's David statue at a laboratory in Florence. The reproduction will be flown to Dubai where it will represent Italy at the Expo. EPA

The 3D-printed copy of Michelangelo's David statue is being assembled at a laboratory in Florence, Italy. EPA

The statue, which is a replica of the masterpiece at the Academy Gallery in Florence, will be the striking centrepiece of Italy's pavilion when Expo opens later this year. EPA

The copy of Michelangelo's David statue involved 3D printing of the various parts of the figure. EPA / Claudio Giovannini

The statue was created thanks to a sophisticated digitalisation process that involved scanning the statue to create a three-dimensional digital twin. EPA

The 3D-printed copy of Michelangelo's David statue is made of acrylic resin covered with marble dust. EPA

The 3D-printed copy of Michelangelo's David statue was assembled by team of restorers at the Opificio delle Pietre Dure in Florence. EPA

The restorers' work includes adding the cracks, fractures and abrasions to give it the same character of the current statue. EPA

Engineers in Florence used high-tech cameras and mounted laser scanners on stairs to capture microscopic details of the 16th-century marble statue. EPA

The 3D-printed copy of Michelangelo's David statue for Italy's Expo 2020 pavilion is starting to take shape at a laboratory in Florence, before its arrival in Dubai later this year.

The statue, a replica of the masterpiece at the Academy Gallery in Florence, will be the striking centrepiece of Italy's pavilion when Expo opens later this year.

It was created through a sophisticated digitising process that involved scanning the statue to create a three-dimensional digital twin.

Engineers in Florence used high-tech cameras and mounted laser scanners on stairs to capture microscopic details of the 16th-century marble statue.

The next stage involved 3D printing of the figure, in  14 pieces, before it was assembled by a team of restorers at the Opificio delle Pietre Dure in Florence – considered to be one of the world's most important institutes for the conservation and restoration of art.

Their work includes adding the cracks, fractures and abrasions to give it the same character as the original statue.

Paolo Glisenti, Italy's commissioner general for the Dubai Expo, told The National this month that the aim was "to make the first perfect twin of the sculpture Michelangelo" created more than 500 years ago.

“We consider it our main tribute to the Expo visionary message, Connecting Minds, Creating the Future,” he said.

The replica, made of acrylic resin covered with marble dust, will be the same size as the original and weigh 400 kilograms, with the base weighing 150kg.

Sheikh Hamdan tours Expo 2020 Dubai site – in pictures

Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed touring the Expo 2020 site. Courtesy, WAM

Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed visited the Expo 2020 site. Courtesy, WAM

Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed snapped a few pictures in Al Wasl Plaza, the Expo’s central hub. Courtesy, WAM

Marjan Faraidooni, Chief Experience Officer of Expo 2020 Dubai, briefed Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed on the event as they toured the Expo 2020 site. Courtesy, WAM

Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed admiring one of the displays inside Terra - the Sustainability Pavilion on his tour of the Expo 2020 site. Courtesy, WAM

Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed touring the Terra - Sustainabilitiy Pavilion at the Expo 2020 site. Courtesy, WAM

Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed touring Terra - the Sustainability Pavilion at the Expo 2020 site. Courtesy, WAM

Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed touring Terra - the Sustainability Pavilion at the Expo 2020 site. Courtesy, WAM

Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed touring Terra - the Sustainability Pavilion at the Expo 2020 site. Courtesy, WAM

Terra - the Sustainability Pavilion at Expo 2020. Courtesy, WAM

Terra - the Sustainability Pavilion at the Expo 2020 site. Courtesy, WAM

Terra - the Sustainability Pavilion at the Expo 2020 site. Courtesy, WAM