Galleria dell'Accademia - Accademia Gallery

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Galleria dell'Accademia - The Accademia Gallery

Address: Via Ricasoli, 58-60113/R
50122 Firenze (FI)
Ticket: Full euro 6,50
Reduced euro 3,25
(€ 10,00 with temporary exhibitions included)
Ticket office accepts only cash payments

Opening hours: Open from 8:15 a.m. to 6:50 p.m.
Tuesdays through Sunday
Days of closure: Closed on Mondays, January 1st, May 1st, and December 25th

Must see's:

Michelangelo's David and Prisoners
Giambologna's Rape of the Sabines
Botticelli's Madonna and Child and Madonna of the Sea

The Galleria museum, as Florence's second most popular museum, also often has a long line. Despite the slightly higher cost of entrance, you could reserve your tickets online.

On the Accademia...

Giambologna's Rape of the Sabines, Accademia Gallery

In 1784, the Grand Duke of Tuscany, Pietro Leopoldo, converted the friary of San Matteo and the convent of San Niccolò di Cafaggio to house the Gallery so students in the adjoining Accademia delle Belle Arti (Fine Arts Academy) could study the greatest works of the past.

Today, it is visited by most people who want to see Michelangelo's David. Undoubtedly the world's most famous sculpture, the museum also houses five other Michelangelo sculptures - the four unfinished Prisoners and St. Matthew - and a collection of Gothic and Renaissance paintings that were once in the Medici collections.

David

Michelangelo's David at the Accademia Gallery

Michelangelo's David arrived in 1873, moved here from the Piazza della Signoria in order to better conserve it. A copy of the statue still stands in Piazza della Signoria where it formerly was displayed. Despite the familiarity of the statue's image, the sheer size of the marble statue comes as a surprise. Commissioned by the Opera del Duomo in 1501, the work was deliberately designed to symbolize the virtues of Republican Florence and freedom from foreign and papal domination. Recently, it has come to symbolize the ultimate symbol of the artistic and intellectual ambitions of the Renaissance.

The 16-foot high block of marble was transformed in 3 years into the work of art that was to establish, along with the Pietà displayed at the Vatican, Michelangelo's reputation as the foremost sculptor of his day. David was always intended as an outdoor sculpture which explains some of the extraordinary physical distortions evident in the statue, such as the overly large hands and head. Even the eyes are made to be looked at from below; when examined from statue eye level, in fact, the two eyes were found to be looking in different directions.

Also at the Accademia...

Among the other works housed in the Galleria are Giambologna's original plaster copy of the Rape of the Sabines (original marble one located in the Loggia dei Lanzi in Piazza della Signoria), Botticelli's Madonna and Child and Madonna of the Sea, and a few works by Perugino, Filippino Lippi, Pontormo, Domenico Ghirlandaio and Bronzino. There is also an extensive collection of plaster models from the 18th century as well as early 13th century religious works by Giovanni di Milano, the Orcagna brothers,Taddeo Gaddi and others that were followers of Giotto.

Recently, the treasured collection of musical instruments from the "Luigi Cherubini" Conservatory of Music has been added to the collection, enhancing the museum's holdings.

Book Accademia tickets online now »