What was the original intended location for Michelangelo's statue of David?

What was the original intended location for Michelangelo's statue of David? It was intended for Florence Cathedral. The cathedral authorities planned a series of monumental Old Testament figures for the building's exterior, particularly high on its buttresses, and David was commissioned as part of that scheme.

Michelangelo received the contract in 1501 and completed the marble between 1501 and 1504. The statue was carved from a huge, flawed block that had already been abandoned by earlier sculptors. At roughly 5.17 metres tall and weighing about 8.5 tons, David proved too heavy and difficult to raise onto the cathedral roofline.

Florentine officials therefore convened a committee of artists and citizens to choose a new site. Suggestions included the cathedral, the Loggia dei Lanzi, and the entrance to the Palazzo della Signoria. The last option won: in June 1504, David was moved over four days to the Piazza della Signoria, where it symbolized the republic's defiance of powerful enemies. It remained there until 1873, when it was transferred indoors to Florence's Galleria dell'Accademia.