Galleria del’Accademia
The Galleria del'Accademia is located in via Ricasoli, which you can reach from the Duomo (cathedral) by taking via Ricasoli directly to the museum. Address: 60 via Ricasoli Opening hours: every day from 9:00 am to 6:45 pm. Closed on Monday. Price : 12 € for the normal price but with extra charge for temporary exhibitions. The Academy of Fine Arts was founded by Cosimo I in 1562 to allow students to study the works of the great masters of the past. It was opened to the public in 1784.
Here you can see works of Tuscan painting and sculpture from the 13th to the 16th century.
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The sculptures of Michelangelo alone are worth a visit: the Captives intended for the tomb of Julius II, but unfinished, - the Pieta by Palestrina (but its attribution is controversial) and of course, in the tribune, the famous David. It was carved in a block of marble 4 m high, but considered unusable because of a fault.
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However, Michelangelo completed his work in less than three years. It presents David with an athletic body, pensive, with a sling on his shoulder, but aware of the future that awaits him. Initially intended for the Duomo, it was finally placed in front of the Palazzo Vecchio, then Palazzo Publico, symbol of the recovered freedom of Florence. It was placed in the Academy in 1873.
