Michelangelo's David sparks court fight as Italy claims the state owns the famous statue

Battle lines are being drawn for a courtroom fight over the ownership of Michelangelo's famous statue of David.

Lawyers working on behalf of the Italian Ministry of Culture have used centuries old documents to draw up a case which says the marble figure - which brings in more than £8million a year - belongs to the State.

However the Tuscan city of Florence, where David is on show in the Accademia Gallery and which has more than 1.5million visitors a year, have hit back in the artistic tug of war and insist the masterpiece is theirs - and they are prepared to fight for it.

Maurizio Raugei and Luigi Andronio, lawyers acting on behalf of the Italian State and Culture Minister Sandro Bondi have pored over documents dating back 500 years to prove their case.

They say history is on their side pointing out to the patchwork of independent city states that made up the peninsula of Italy until the county was unified in 1861.

The lawyers say that Florence City Council, which was created when the city was part of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, cannot be considered the 'descendant' of the Florentine Republic which existed when Michelangelo carved the statue.