Galleria dell'Accademia di Firenze: cosa vedere

There Accademia Gallery in Florence, together with the Uffizi It is one of the most important museums in Italy, the fourth most visited. Home to Michelangelo's famous David, it offers a collection of priceless works of art.

Accademia Gallery, a journey through history

You access the Accademia Gallery in Florence from the entrance in Ricasoli Street after having queued for a while. It is worth waiting half an hour, and sometimes even more, to enter a real sacred temple of theRenaissance artThe wait passes pleasantly, especially if it's not pouring with rain and if among the other people waiting there's someone to chat with.

The Hall of the Colossus

Once you have passed the scrupulous checks of the security personnel, you enter the Hall of the ColossusIt is so called because in the nineteenth century it was dominated by an imposing plaster cast of one of the Dioscuri made by Montecavallo. Now there is no trace of that plaster cast left and what immediately attracts the visitor's attention is the group of the Rape of the Sabine Women in plaster made by Jean de Boulogne, much better known by the nickname that the Florentines had given him, that is GiambolognaThe work was later created by the sculptor in Carrara marble and can still be seen today, sheltered from the elements, in its original location under the Loggia dei Lanzi, in Piazza della Signoria.
The Rape of the Sabine Women group is a true masterpiece in which the Flemish artist put into practice all his technical knowledge and creative flair.

Obviously, whoever accesses the Accademia Gallery he especially wants to see the Michelangelo's David, but before arriving in front of the marble giant there are other works that deserve all the attention. For example, it is possible to admire the painting of Paolo Uccello which depicts scenes of monastic life. Another work worthy of a long visit is "Saint Stephen between Saints James and Peter” made by the Ghirlandaio, the workshop master who gave Michelangelo the first rudiments of painting.

The “Madonna and Child, St. John the Baptist and two Angels” built in 1468 by Sandro Botticelli It's worth careful observation. One of the two angels in the background looks directly at the viewer, drawing them into the scene. The Madonna's eyes are half-closed and turned downward. She doesn't seem to be looking at her son, whom she holds in her arms, but rather, she seems to be contemplating the Child's future and already seeing a Cross in his destiny.

The Florentine Rooms

After touring the Hall of the Colossus in its entirety, pausing to admire the most beautiful works that have survived intact to this day, we arrive at the Florentine Rooms. This part of the Accademia Museum is also fascinating and full of moving paintings. Among the most beautiful works is undoubtedly the detached fresco that was previously located in the Convent of the Santissima Annunziata. It is the Christ in Mercy and it was made by Andrea del Sarto.
The imposing Deposition immediately catches the eye, both for its size and the tones of the colors used. The work was begun by Filippino Lippi and completed, after his death, by the great painter Pietro Perugino.
It is also possible to see “Venus and Cupid” painted by Jacopo Pontormo based on a design by Michelangelo Buonarroti.

Many of these priceless works of art already belonged to the Accademia Gallery at the moment in which Peter Leopold of Lorraine decided to establish this museum in 1784. Others were acquired later and added to the original collection, giving added value to the entire exhibition.

The Gallery of Prisoners

To get to admire Michelangelo's masterpiece in the best possible way, anticipating it from afar, you can walk along the Gallery of Prisoners. In this corridor which ends right in front of the Tribune of David, four sculptures made by Michelangelo known as the “Prisons“The Florentine artist had begun to create them for the complex monumental tomb of Pope Julius II but for a series of circumstances he never finished them. The “Prisoners” arrived in Florence from Rome only after Michelangelo's death and Cosimo I decided to place them inside the Buontalenti Cave: the main artistic attraction of the Boboli GardensThey remained there until 1901 when it was decided to move them to the Academy Museum.

THE Prisons They are currently flanked by the statue of St. Matthew, also begun by Michelangelo in 1505 and not completed. It is also possible to see the Palestrina Pietà This is one of four Pietàs sculpted by the Florentine artist during his lifetime. However, the authorship of this statue is still debated among Michelangelo experts, and its attribution remains uncertain.

The David

Once you have finished admiring the beauty of Michelangelo's statues you arrive in front of the DavidIts majesty is enhanced by the imposing marble pedestal on which stands the young man who has not yet thrown the stone at Goliath. Michelangelo He decided to sculpt David just seconds before his attack on the fearsome warrior. His nostrils are slightly flared, a tangible sign of his resolve. Every muscle in his body is tense, and his furrowed brows make him seem certain of his decision.

Michelangelo sculpted David from a single block of marble with absolute anatomical precision. The muscles and tendons sculpted into David are real. Only a single muscle was arbitrarily added by the artist to one of the wrists to give him a more massive appearance.
There's usually a large crowd around the David, but it's still possible to see it very well from every angle, as the museum management has thought it wise to create a path behind it as well.
There Accademia Gallery, in addition to the works already mentioned, it preserves many others that are worth admiring with your own eyes.

There Accademia Gallery of Florence, together with the OfficeI am among the most important museums in Italy and they contain some of humanity's greatest masterpieces. But everyone, in their own small way, creates at least one masterpiece in their lifetime. Tell us yours.

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