He worked masterfully around the limitations of the stone. David is relatively slim and his head is pointed to the side, because the block was too narrow to face forward. His contrapposto poise accounted for a hole that already existed in the marble between the legs.

The work was also groundbreaking in style. Earlier interpretations of David, such as by Donatello and Verrocchio, depicted him victorious over the already slain Goliath.

Michelangelo instead showed him at the precipice of battle. His intense stare and furrowed brow depict a contemplative moment - David will confront the challenge with a focused, rational mind.

David was the result of detailed anatomical studies by the great polymath - modern examinations have found it to be absolutely perfect, except for one small muscle missing in the back. Michelangelo was aware of this, as he wrote that he was limited by a defect in the marble.

But the genius of David was not just its anatomical accuracy. It came to represent the very notion of ideal human form and proportion - an interpretation of the common ancient Greek theme of the ideal male figure.

Today, over 1 million people visit David every year. But it was revered in its own time too - 16th Century Renaissance painter Giorgio Vasari said that it surpassed "all ancient and modern statues, whether Greek or Latin, that have ever existed."

Michelangelo said of his method: "In every block of marble I see a statue as plain as though it stood before me, shaped and perfect in attitude and action. I have only to hew away the rough walls that imprison the lovely apparition to reveal it to the other eyes as mine see it."

You have bewitched me body and soul.
And I love … I love … I love you.
I never wish to be parted from you from this day on.

Pride and prejudice (2005).

I'm very bored so let's talk Rome

According to tradition, Rome was founded by Romulus and Remus in 753 BCE. They were twin brothers, sons of a human mother and the god of war, Mars. After their birth, the king ordered them killed. They were placed in a basket and put into the Tiber River - left to die from exposure in the outdoors. But their basket washed up on the river bank where they were found by a female wolf. The wolf nursed the hungry babies and cared for them until they were found by a shepherd.

The shepherd and his wife raised the babies as their own. Romulus and Remus grew up and helped overthrow the king who had ordered their death. They wanted to build their own city along the Tiber River where their basket had washed ashore. They disagreed about where it should be, and Romulus killed Remus during their quarrels. Romulus built the city of Rome on one of the seven hills along the Tiber - the Palatine hill - and lived a long life as king of Rome.