The Florence museum that houses Michelangelo's statue of David has invited teachers and students from a Florida school to visit, after an uproar over an art lesson.

The school's principal quit after a complaint about a sixth-grade art class that included an image of the statue.

A parent had complained the image was pornographic.

Cecilie Hollberg, director of Galleria dell'Accademia, has now issued the invitation to the class.

She said the principal should be "rewarded, not punished".

"Talking about the Renaissance without showing the David, an undisputed icon of art and culture and of that historical period, would make no sense," Ms Hollberg said.