Galleria dell'Accademia

Gallery in Florence

Michelangelos David In Academia Galley — CC BY-SA 4.0 / Maksim Sokolov

The Gallery of the Academy in Florence is a world-renowned sculpture museum, boasting the largest collection of Michelangelo’s sculptures, including the iconic David. Originally placed in the Piazza della Signoria, David symbolized the freedom of the Florentine Republic before being moved to the museum in 1873. The statue is now showcased in a specially designed tribune, bathed in natural light from a grand skylight.

The museum also exhibits Michelangelo’s famous unfinished sculptures known as the Prisoners or Slaves, representing figures struggling to free themselves from the marble that encases them. Other notable works by Michelangelo in the collection include the Pietà di Palestrina and the St. Matthew.

Aside from Michelangelo’s masterpieces, the Gallery of the Academy houses a remarkable array of artworks by other artists. Visitors can marvel at Giambologna’s plaster model for the Rape of the Sabine Women, Botticelli’s Madonna of the Sea and Madonna and Child, Ghirlandaio’s Saint Stephen, and pieces by Pontormo, Perugino, Andrea del Sarto, Filippino Lippi, and Bronzino. The museum also holds a prized collection of gold background paintings from the 13th to early 15th centuries and an extensive selection of works by Lorenzo Monaco.

The Department of Musical Instruments preserves the Luigi Cherubini Conservatory of Florence’s collection and features around fifty musical instruments from the private collections of the Medici and Lorraine grand dukes, including Antonio Stradivari’s tenor viola and cello.

Furthermore, the Gipsoteca recently reopened with a new layout, recreating the atmosphere of Lorenzo Bartolini’s studio, a prominent Italian sculptor of the 19th century. The room now showcases Bartolini’s extensive collection of plaster casts, restored and highlighted against the powder blue “gipsoteca” walls, specially created to enhance the exhibits’ beauty.

Tips for visiting Galleria dell’Accademia and Uffizi: If you are going to both the Uffizi and Galleria dell’Accademia you can save time waiting in the long lines at both these outstanding art museums with a Skip the Line: Florence Accademia and Uffizi Gallery Tour that takes you straight to the entrance, as well as a guided tour.

The Galleria dell'Accademia appears in our Complete Guide to Visiting Florence!

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